Restless lottery winner wakes up at 3 a.m. to claim Michigan prize. ‘I was so excited’

A $500 lottery win is already significant, but a non-winning ticket proved to be one that was life changing for a Michigan woman.

Blanche Micale-Thomas, a 73-year-old woman from St. Ignace, purchased two 500X Money Maker tickets. One of them was a $500 winner.

She initially came up empty with the other ticket, but she scanned it on the Michigan Lottery’s app for a second chance drawing, lottery officials said.

“I saw an email that I won $100,000 in the second chance drawing, but I didn’t believe it was real, so I called the lottery,” Micale-Thomas said. “When they confirmed I was the winner, I couldn’t believe it. 500X Money Maker is my new favorite game!”

The $100,000 prize was the top offering in the second chance drawing, which also awarded five $10,000 winners. Players enter the drawing by scanning their non-winning tickets on the lottery app.

“I didn’t sleep at all last night because I was so excited to get my check today,” Micale-Thomas said. “I got out of bed at 3 a.m. and was ready to head to Lansing!”

She said she’ll use part of her winnings for a trip to Las Vegas. Micale-Thomas also plans to donate to charities and save the remainder.

St. Ignace is in northern Michigan near where Lake Michigan and Lake Huron meet.

This story was originally published November 15, 2023 at 10:51 AM with the headline "Restless lottery winner wakes up at 3 a.m. to claim Michigan prize. ‘I was so excited’."