A woman became a million-dollar lottery winner after originally believing that a phone call from the Michigan Lottery was a “scam.” Valerie Williams, 65, earned the grand prize of $1 million from the Electric Giveaway live event in September despite having a non-winning ticket at first. It wasn’t until a few days later that she discovered that she realized she was entered into a second-chance giveaway that eventually led her to becoming a millionaire in a single spin.
Michigan woman “still in shock” after winning $1 million prize
Williams earned entries into the Electric Giveaway by scanning her losing tickets into the Michigan Lottery mobile app and was surprised to learn that she had been selected as one of five finalists to win the $1 million jackpot.
“When I saw an incoming call from the Michigan Lottery one day, I was hesitant to answer because I assumed it was a scam,” Williams recalled, in a press release by the Michigan Lottery. “but I ended up answering to see what it was about.”
Her hesitancy is not surprising, since lottery scams targeting seniors through phone calls are unfortunately common. In 2020, the attorney general of Florida issued a consumer alert about scammers notifying seniors about fake lottery prizes and convincing them to send their banking information for verification. Fortunately for Williams, the call from the Michigan Lottery was legitimate.
Along with four other finalists, Williams appeared at Comerica Park, the ballpark stadium for the Detroit Tigers, to determine the winner. A wheel with five different colors began spinning and it landed on her color, which was fittingly green, awarding her the big check of $1 million. This is despite her saying in a video of the live drawing that she brought “no lucky charms” with her, unlike the other contestants.
Still “in shock,” the lottery winner will save most of the money, much like the recent $410 million Powerball winner from Missouri, but is planning to spend some of it on a vacation with her husband.
