By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
A weekly tradition recently led to financial windfall for an Otsego man.
Mark Brooks, 60, said he stops to buy two Powerball tickets every Friday on his way home from work. One of the tickets he purchased for the Saturday, Sept. 24, drawing had numbers matching all five white balls: 03-09-21-24-29.
And just like that, Brooks had won $1 million from the Michigan Lottery, much to his disbelief.
“The week after the drawing, I stopped at the store on my way home from work to check my tickets,” Brooks said. “I scanned my Powerball ticket and got a message to file a claim, so I asked the clerk to check it. The clerk got the same message, so I took the ticket back and decided to check the numbers when I got home.
“When I pulled up the winning numbers online and started looking my ticket over, my first thought was, ‘These numbers are looking really familiar.’ When I realized I’d won $1 million, I was amazed. All I could think was. ‘This can’t be right.’”
Brooks, who reportedly purchased his winning ticket at Otsego Party Store on S. Farmer St., recently collected his winnings at the Michigan Lottery headquarters. After taxes, Brooks got a check for about $717,500, officials said.
Brooks told officials he plans to use the money to pay bills and save up for retirement.
The Powerball jackpot has now risen to more than $600 million, with the last jackpot being won in August.
Each Powerball play can be purchased for $2 both in-person and online. Powerball drawings are held on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m.