Co-worker gave woman some lottery advice — and then she won big Michigan jackpot prize

With $10 in her pocket, a Michigan woman said she decided to buy a lottery ticket before starting her shift at a local bar.

As Shawna Foerster was getting ready to play Club Keno, her aptly named co-worker offered some “helpful advice,” according to a Sept. 7 news release from the Michigan Lottery.

“My co-worker, Jack, suggested I add The Jack to my ticket, so I did, and the rest is history,” Foerster recalled to lottery officials. Lottery players who add The Jack add-on game get a chance to win a progressive jackpot or other prizes.

“Later in my shift, I scanned the ticket on the terminal, and it printed a receipt saying I needed to claim my prize at the Lottery office,” the 40-year-old woman said in the release. “I figured I had won $1,000 or so, it wasn’t until later when I downloaded the Lottery app and scanned my ticket that I realized I had won $197,296!”

Foerster, of St. Johns, had won The Jack prize with numbers 01-07-11-13-36-46-55-57, according to the release. To win the jackpot, players have to match all eight numbers during the drawing.

When claiming her winnings, the mom said she plans to use some of the money to pay for her daughter’s college. She also plans to save, according to the release.

“Winning this prize is life changing for my family,” Foerster said. “It means we’ll be able to save for a rainy day and not worry as much about having a cushion to fall back on.”

The winning ticket was sold at Bruno’s Bar in St. Johns, about 25 miles north of Lansing.

This story was originally published September 8, 2023 at 9:39 AM with the headline "Co-worker gave woman some lottery advice — and then she won big Michigan jackpot prize."