Bar workers buy lottery ticket at closing time — and they’ll split huge Michigan prize

Two workers at a Michigan bar will split a massive lottery jackpot after purchasing a ticket at closing time, officials say.

Jennifer Boulley-Wicklund and Thomas Derusha, the two members of the Wally’s Club lottery duo, purchased the Doubler Wild Time Progressive Fast Cash $10 ticket at the end of their shift recently at Wally’s Bar in Gladstone, according to Michigan Lottery officials.

Boulley-Wicklund said she put the ticket in her pocket, and her boss called later that night to tell her a $1.41 million ticket had been purchased at their bar.

“I remembered that I hadn’t checked the ticket yet, so I grabbed it and looked it over,” the woman told lottery officials. “When I saw that we had won the jackpot, I couldn’t believe it. I called Thomas right away to tell him what we’d won!”

The $10 ticket offers a prize of up to $6,000, along with 100% of the Fast Cash progressive jackpot. After the Wally’s Club win, the jackpot currently sits at $410,536 as of March. 29.

Derusha said they plan on saving their winnings.

“Winning is still sinking in for the both of us,” Derusha told lottery officials. “We plan to save our winnings, relax, and continue having fun like we always do.”

Gladstone is in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan about 120 miles northeast of Green Bay, Wisconsin.

This story was originally published March 29, 2023 at 9:59 AM with the headline "Bar workers buy lottery ticket at closing time — and they’ll split huge Michigan prize."