Lottery Club in Michigan Claims Massive $842.4M Powerball Jackpot

At the start of the year, on January 1, 2024, one winning lottery ticket hit the jackpot from Powerball. Guessing correctly the winning numbers from the New Year’s Day draw, the winning ticket in Michigan scored the biggest Powerball prize, a mind-blowing $842.4 million.

Several months after the historic win, Powerball confirmed that a mid-Michigan lottery club claimed the largest Powerball prize in the state. The winning ticket was purchased by the club known as “The Breakfast Club” from Food Castle of Grand Blanc, at 3035 East Grand Blanc Road in Grand Blanc.

Mark K. Harder, a representative and attorney for the club, revealed that they selected to receive a one-time lump cash sum as opposed to annuity payments. Considering the cash option, the jackpot would reduce from $842.4 million to approximately $425 million before taxes.

Harder acknowledged that once a 24% tax or close to $102 million and 4.25% state tax or another $18 million is applied, the Breakfast Club’s members would receive some $305 million. This sum is far from the $425 million before taxes or the astronomical $800 million figure but it is unquestionably life-changing.

Suzanna Shkreli, Michigan’s lottery commissioner, said on the topic: “On New Year’s Day, the lives of the members of The Breakfast Club lottery club changed forever when they won the $842.4 million Powerball Jackpot.”

She spoke about the importance of jackpots for lottery retailers, adding that the venue that sold the winning ticket in Grand Blanc would benefit from a $50,000 bonus commission. Finally, Shkreli praised the importance of the lottery which has helped raise more than $1 billion per year for the last five years for Michigan schools.

The Historic Win Brought a Range of Emotions

Although the $842.4 million jackpot is the biggest prize from Powerball in Michigan, it is not the largest lottery prize won in the state. Back in January 2021, a fortunate lottery player from the state hit the $1.05 billion Mega Millions jackpot.

Besides the biggest Powerball prize, the jackpot marked the most recent jackpot win from the game. The last time a Michigan resident won a Powerball jackpot was back in February 2020. At the time, a Waterford resident called Cristy Davis won a $70 million jackpot from the popular lottery game.

“As you can imagine, the club members have felt so many emotions since realizing their ticket was ‘the one.’ They’ve been elated and overwhelmed, thrilled, and nervous.“

Mark K. Harder, attorney and representative of The Breakfast Club

According to The Breakfast Club’s representative, the jackpot win brought incredible excitement for the members of the club. He explained that on the morning after the draw, one member heard the news about the jackpot win and checked the winning numbers.

Once realizing that the club had won the jackpot, the member dropped his phone. But even after understanding that they had secured early retirement, the man and his wife went to work on the day like nothing happened. Harder added that the win was overwhelming for the Breakfast Club’s members who now plan to retire early, spend more time with their families and travel across the globe.