Wife gives husband ‘a birthday he’ll never forget’ with big lottery win in Michigan

A Michigan woman saw the Fantasy 5 jackpot had soared past $150,000 and decided to buy a lottery ticket.

“It was my husband, Scott’s, birthday, so we stopped at our neighbor’s house on the way home to celebrate,” Kristin Murawski told Michigan Lottery officials. “While we were there, my brother-in-law texted my husband the winning numbers.”

That’s when she realized she might have won the $288,903 Fantasy 5 jackpot, according to a July 27 news release from the Michigan Lottery.

“As I was looking at (the numbers), I kept yelling: ‘I think we hit! I think we hit!’” she told lottery officials. “My husband looked at the ticket and his jaw dropped!”

The 46-year-old woman — with numbers 21-23-25-34-38 — had won the game’s top prize during the July 21 drawing, according to the release. For her husband, it’s now “a birthday he’ll never forget.”

“Winning this jackpot is life-changing and makes our lives easier,” Murawski said when claiming her winnings. “It means an earlier retirement for my husband and less worry about how we’ll make ends meet once we are both retired.”

She plans to use the newfound cash to pay student loans and invest, officials said.

The winning ticket was sold by Red Party Store in Willis, about 20 miles southeast of Ann Arbor.

This story was originally published July 28, 2023 at 11:03 AM with the headline "Wife gives husband ‘a birthday he’ll never forget’ with big lottery win in Michigan."