SAGINAW, MI (WNEM) -
Luck was on the side of two local women playing the Michigan Lottery this year.
One of them has won $1 million after playing a Michigan Lottery "Play it Again" dice game Thursday night.
Three contestants played in which each of them electronically rolled virtual dice. The one with the highest score after rolling twice won the game. That lucky winner was Judith Powell, of Essexville.
Powell clearly could not contain her excitement when host Christopher Knight, of "Brady Bunch" game, announced she was the winner. Powell jumped up and down, hugged her family and sported a huge grin.
"This is wonderful," said Powell. "Especially since I didn't believe it when the Lottery first called me." Powell said she thought she was being scammed when she was contacted by phone after winning the drawing to become the third finalist eligible to compete for the prize. "I really didn't believe it until I got the e-mail from the Lottery," she said.
The three finalists were chosen from more than 9,888,000 entries. The other two finalists were Evelyn Welch from L'Anse and Robert Helmink, from Wyoming. They each received $5,000 for their participation.
Players can qualify for the "Play it Again" $1 million giveaway by entering nonwinning lottery tickets into their Player's Club account at www.michiganlottery.com. The next giveaway is scheduled for September 2013.
The second big winner, a Saginaw resident, has won $105,000 playing the Fantasy 5 drawing. Carol J. Frost said she used to play the lotto on and off, but once her children were out of college and she had a little extra to spend, she began playing religiously. That consistency has now paid off. "Even after I saw it online, I still couldn't believe it," Frost said about having the winning numbers on her ticket.
Frost said she intends to pay off her car and give money to her church. That winning ticket was sold at Boardwalk Party Story on Bay Road in Saginaw Township.
Copyright 2012 WNEM (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
$1,000,000 Giveaway! winner Judith M. Powell with former Brady Bunch” star Christopher Knight.
Carol J. Frost of Saginaw claims $105,000 from the 09/02/2012 Fantasy 5 drawing.
