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Not Quite Hundreds Of Millions, But Detroit Woman Gladly Takes $1 Million Powerball Prize

By now, you know that no Michigander was the winner of the recent Powerball jackpot of nearly $700 million. But one Detroit woman came darn close.

Michigan Lottery Powerball Jackpot October 2021
Photo by Michigan Lottery/Courtesy photo
Danny Lawhon Avatar
2 mins read
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By now, you’ve discovered that neither you nor any other Michigander was the winner of the recent Powerball jackpot of nearly $700 million.

But one Detroit woman came darn close about a month ago. And she is ready to make a better life for her family after winning $1 million from the Michigan Lottery, the organization announced Wednesday.

LaSharda Morrison, 43, matched the five white balls — 12-22-26-46-59 — in the Aug. 28 Powerball drawing to win $1 million, not quite the jackpot prize. She bought her winning ticket at the Six Mile X-Press Party Store, located at 19410 West McNichols Road in Detroit.

Millionaire had near-Powerball jackpot ticket for weeks

“I buy a Powerball ticket every now and then if I’m feeling lucky, or if the jackpot is creeping up,” Morrison said in a lottery news release. “I walked around with this ticket for a couple weeks after the drawing before I even checked it.

“When I checked it at the store, I thought something was off. I pulled the numbers up on my phone, and I was stunned.”

Morrison visited lottery headquarters in Lansing to claim her prize. With her winnings, she plans to purchase a new home, take her family on a camping trip and then save the rest.

“You always want to do better for your kids. With this money, I know I can help them have a better life and set them up for years to come,” Morrison told the lottery.

As usual, we’ll remind folks that it’s often a good idea to plan to invest the majority of your lottery winnings. You can collect interest and also limit your Michigan tax liability. That’s also why we suggest finding an attorney or financial adviser upon your big score.

Race to record Michigan Lottery millionaires is close

The march to a record number of Michigan Lottery millionaires continues with this brush with the Powerball jackpot. (And there was also another $2 million Powerball prize reported from the Sept. 28 drawing. No more official details on that one yet, though.)

The Michigan Lottery is reporting 44 million-dollar-or-more prize winners so far in 2021. The all-time record is 57, back in 2019. If you’re an #onpace guy or gal, as of Oct. 7, we are 76.7% of the way through the year. Having 44 millionaires is 77.2% of the way to 57.

Get your seven-figure popcorn ready.

Amount Of $1 Million+ Michigan Lottery Prizes

Year Count
2021 58
2020 48
2019 57
2018 45
2017 38
2016 46
2015 38
2014 27
2013 32
2012 25
2011 17
2010 16
2009 5
Reported prizes through December 13, 2021
Danny Lawhon Avatar
Written by

Danny has more than a decade of reporting experience in three states, including nearly 10 years with the Des Moines in Iowa. He's covered college and professional sports, the NCAA Tournament and the PGA, LPGA and Champions Tours. Danny has also covered the Michigan gambling industry for Catena Media.

View all posts by Danny Lawhon

Danny has more than a decade of reporting experience in three states, including nearly 10 years with the Des Moines in Iowa. He's covered college and professional sports, the NCAA Tournament and the PGA, LPGA and Champions Tours. Danny has also covered the Michigan gambling industry for Catena Media.

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