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Mid-Michigan couple claims $842-million Powerball jackpot through attorney

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Mid-Michigan couple claims 2-million Powerball jackpot through attorney

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GRAND BLANC — Under a clear blue sky and in front of a crowd of reporters and TV cameras, the Michigan Lottery commissioner presented two checks: one for the $842.4 million winning Powerball jackpot ticket and the other to the local business that sold it.

It was the second-largest payout in the state ever and the Tuesday morning moment had all the makings of a lottery commercial, except for one thing: The winners, who are normally bubbling over with surprise and joy at their newly found fortune, weren’t there to collect the prize.

Instead, for a variety of reasons, the winners — a mid-Michigan husband and wife, who called themselves the Breakfast Club — sent their attorney, Mark Harder, Holland law firm partner. He calmly read a statement, noting the the winners have “felt so many emotions since realizing their ticket was ‘the one.’ “

Lottery payouts that would have seemed inconceivable when the games started decades ago, combined with access to information online that makes it possible for details on just about anyone, has given modern winners reason to want to stay out of the limelight.

The largest grand prize in Michigan was a $1.05 billion Mega Millions jackpot in 2021.

The issue of winner disclosure also has increased conversation about how to handle winner reveals, with debates and proposals emerging last year in the state Legislature about giving lucky claimants the option to remain anonymous.

Winner ID debate

Michigan requires lottery winners disclosed their identities, in part, because, as Lottery Commissioner Suzanna Shkreli told the Free Press, “it’s important to see” they are real, and it helps to sell future tickets when the public can share in the elation of such good luck.

However, Shkreli explained, the law also gives people who wish to remain private a work around: They can form clubs, and designate an attorney — like Harder — to claim the prize without disclosing much about them protecting their privacy.

She did not give an opinion on whether anonymous claims will become more common or affect future sales.

More: $842-million Powerball jackpot ticket sold in Michigan

Michigan Lottery spokesman Jake Harris said last year that for transparency sake, being able to show that real people are winning life-changing prizes are vital and the buzz surrounding huge jackpots relates to seeing who comes forward to claim the prize.

However, one state representative argued the opposite, that the thought of winning and everyone knowing might deter people from buying a ticket, and, in fact, more people might play the lottery if they knew they could win with anonymity, without everyone else knowing their business.

In this case, the two winners, Harder said, have told a select few people; and they elected to claim the lottery winnings all at once instead of over time, which reduced it to about $425 million or $305 million after they paid all their taxes.

They mostly, he said, don’t want people to react to them differently because they are wealthy.

Opening the world

With Food Castle of Grand Blanc as a backdrop, Harder read a statement from the winners that said the prize will “positively affect our family for generations to come” and that “up until now, we have lead a comfortable life and anticipated retiring someday.”

Now, they added: “The world — and our opportunities — have opened up in some incredible ways.”

Harder, in short interviews with the Free Press and other news outlets, said the husband was so excited when he read the winning numbers on his smartphone and realized he had the winning ticket he dropped the mobile device.

Harder, however, declined to identify what city the winners lived in or what they did for a living, saying only that they have two children and are occasional lottery players, mostly when the jackpots hit $100 million or more.

“It’s very had to say what we’ll do from here,” the statement said. “Our travel plans will open up a bit more. We plan to stay in mid-Michigan. We’ll pay off our debts and are considering buying a place in Florida when Michigan winters get to be a bit too much.”

The winners added they plan to share their winnings with family by “helping them realize their dreams” and “plan to be more charitable,” but did not identify which organizations they would give to or how they planned to do it.

Still, there was some excitement in Tuesday’s staged check presentation.

Nabil Nannoshi — the beaming retail owner who claimed a $50,000 check for selling the winning ticket, an incentive to stores — said his family planned to give the winnings all back to the local community through donations to the local food banks and other groups that could use it.

And when it was time for Michigan Lottery to take photos of the winners with their giant checks, Nannoshi playfully asked, pointing to the Breakfast Club check and making the eager crowd of journalists snicker: “Can we take a picture with that check, though?”

Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.

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