'It couldn't have come at a better time': Michigan family wins $150,000 Powerball jackpot

A Michigan family that plays Powerball together won $150,000 after they matched four white balls and the Powerball from the Aug. 26 drawing.

Gary Mallet and his son Tim Mallet claimed their $150,000 Tuesday at the Michigan Lottery headquarters. The duo calls themselves "The G & T Players Lottery Club," something they started because of their love for playing the lottery.

“We checked our ticket the morning after the drawing and didn’t recognize the message we got on the ticket checker,” Gary Mallet shared. “We asked the clerk to scan the ticket and she used the Lottery’s app to find out how much we’d won."

The father-son duo purchased the winning ticket at Harper Gas Station in Saint Clair Shores, Michigan. The winning numbers for Aug. 26 were 20, 22, 26, 28, and 63, with a Powerball number of 5. The ticket holder matched four numbers and the Powerball, winning $50,000. Thanks to Power Play, the prize was increased to $150,000.

After winning, the Michigan Lottery was informed the duo plans to pay bills, complete some home repairs, and save the rest of the money.

“Winning is unreal and so hard to believe. It couldn’t have come at a better time,” Gary Mallet shared.

The next Powerball jackpot drawing will be held on Sept. 13, and the prize amount is currently $550 million.

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What are the odds of winning the Powerball?

It's understandable that some lottery players are enticed by the whopping $550 million jackpot, but it's essential to keep in mind that the chances of winning Powerball's top prize are exceedingly slim.

• The odds of winning a Powerball jackpot are about 1 in 292.2 million.
• The overall odds of winning a Powerball prize (across all tiers) are about 1 in 24.9.  

To participate in the Powerball game, players can purchase a ticket for $2 per play. The game requires players to choose five numbers from one to 69 for the white balls, and one number from one to 26 for the red Powerball. Alternatively, players can opt to receive random numbers.

In order to win the jackpot, it is necessary to match the numbers for all of the five white balls and the red Powerball.

In addition to the grand prize, Powerball offers eight other ways to win based on the number of matched balls in the non-jackpot tiers.

The non-jackpot prizes offered range from $4 to $1 million. By paying an additional $1, you can choose to participate in "Powerplay" that increases non-jackpot winnings by 2, 3, 4, 5, or 10 times.

According to Powerball, the 10X Powerplay option is exclusively applicable to jackpots worth $150 million or less. Additionally, the game's "Match 5" prize for the second-tier is limited to a maximum of $2 million if the Powerplay feature is utilized.

An additional add-on feature called "Double Play," which gives players another chance to match their numbers after each Powerball drawing, is available in some jurisdictions for $1 per play.