LANSING, Mich. – Winning $1 million playing the Michigan Lottery’s Casino Millions game led to a sleepless night for a Washtenaw County couple.
“I went to the gas station to turn in my wife’s winning instant tickets,” said Don Smith. “I had an extra $20, so I bought her two Casino Millions tickets as a surprise.”
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“When my husband got home, he handed me a few tickets and I noticed there was a couple extra,” said Christina Faussett, of Saline. “I was going to wait a day to scratch the Casino Millions tickets, but I decided I’d go ahead and scratch them since I was already sitting there.
“When I saw the ‘1MIL’ symbol, I started scratching much slower. I handed the ticket to my husband and told him: ‘I think I won $1 million!’ When I saw that his hands were shaking and he couldn’t hold the ticket still, I knew it was real.”
The winning ticket was bought at the Sunoco gas station, located at 6999 Saline Avenue in Saline.
“I don’t think either of us slept at all last night,” said Faussett. “The Lottery couldn’t open early enough for us.”
Faussett, 43, visited Lottery headquarters Wednesday to claim the big prize. She chose to receive her prize as a one-time lump sum payment of about $634,000 rather than 30 annuity payments for the full amount.
“Winning comes at a great time. We’ll be able to look into upgrading our home and set up a college fund for our son,” Faussett said.
Players have won more than $10 million playing Casino Millions, which launched in March. Each $10 ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from $20 up to $1 million. More than $37 million in prizes remain, including two $1 million top prizes and 17 $1,000 prizes.
Lottery instant games may be purchased at 11,000 retailers across the state.
In 2017, Lottery players won more than $960 million playing instant games.