Powerball player wins huge prize in Michigan — then has the longest week of his life

A life-changing lottery win was followed by an agonizing week of anticipation for a Michigan man.

Brian Ellsworth, from Jackson, is now “giddy” to claim his Powerball prize he won after buying tickets at a Save Time store April 3.

“When I took the tickets to the store a few days later to check them, one of them came up with a message to file a claim at the lottery office. I had never seen that message before, so I wasn’t sure what it meant,” Ellsworth told lottery officials in an April 15 news release. “I scanned it a few more times and then finally asked the clerk what was going on. She scanned the ticket and told me I was a big winner!”

The win would have normally been $50,000, but Ellsworth chose the Power Play option, which tripled his winnings to $150,000. He won by matching four of the five white balls as well as the Powerball number.

Numbers drawn April 3 were 11-38-41-62-65 with the Powerball number 15. Had he matched all of the numbers, he would have won the estimated jackpot of $1.13 billion.

“It has been the longest week of my life holding onto this ticket, so I feel giddy to be at the lottery office claiming my prize!” he said. “Winning is going to make life easier for me and my wife.”

Ellsworth, 65, said he plans to use the winnings to “purchase a travel trailer, complete some home repairs and then save the remainder.”

Jackson is about an 80-mile drive west of Detroit.

This story was originally published April 15, 2024 at 3:04 PM with the headline "Powerball player wins huge prize in Michigan — then has the longest week of his life."