She won $1 million and waited a year to say a word

A woman from Rochester Hills, Michigan, just cashed a $1 million Powerball ticket. She had it for 365 days. Why the wait?

A win she almost let expire

Theresa Lynchosky, 63, matched all five white balls in the July 14, 2025, Powerball drawing: 08-12-45-46-63. She bought the ticket online at the Michigan Lottery website, the way she always does.

The next morning, she logged into her account, and a notification popped up. She'd won $1 million.

"I was stunned," Lynchosky said. She took a screenshot. She kept opening it, just to check it was real.

Then she sat on it. For a year.

Why keep a million-dollar secret?

Lynchosky claimed the prize "for personal reasons" and told no one. Not her family. Not her friends. She held the news until last week, when she finally told her best friend. She explained:

I was so happy to finally share the news with someone. I still don't have the words to describe what winning this prize means to me.

She visited Michigan Lottery headquarters to make it official. Her plan for the money? Save it.

The deadline she almost missed

Here's the part that raises the stakes: Powerball tickets expire one year after the draw date. Lynchosky claimed hers with hours to spare. Miss the deadline, and the prize doesn't roll over. It goes to Michigan's School Aid Fund instead.

She cut it about as close as a winner can.

The odds, the option, the next jackpot

Powerball tickets cost $2 each. Players can add Power Play for $1, which multiplies non-jackpot prizes up to 10 times, capped at $2 million. A separate $1 add-on, Double Play, gives a second shot at winning up to $10 million in a nightly drawing.

Drawings happen Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. ET. Tonight's jackpot: an estimated $498 million, with a cash value of $221 million.

The bigger picture

Michigan Lottery returns about 97 cents of every dollar spent on tickets back into the state, through school funding, prizes, and retailer commissions. Last fiscal year alone, the Lottery sent over $1.1 billion to Michigan's public schools, the seventh time it's crossed the billion-dollar mark. Since 1972, that total tops $30 billion.

Lynchosky's ticket almost added to that fund instead of her savings account. A year of silence, a last-minute claim, and one very close call.