A northern Michigan father of seven and grandfather of 21 was revealed Wednesday as the winner of an $80 million Powerball jackpot.
Phillip Chippewa, 54, of Suttons Bay matched the winning numbers drawn on Sept. 21 — 1, 9, 22, 36, and 68, with Powerball number 22 — according to the Michigan Lottery.
He purchased his ticket at the Barrels & Barrels Party Store located at 1375 SW Bayshore Drive in Suttons Bay.
"Anytime I see the jackpot getting up there I buy a few tickets and hope for the best," Chippewa told the Michigan Lottery. "I stopped at Barrels and Barrels the day of the drawing and almost walked out without buying the tickets, but at the last minute, I decided to get four plays."
Chippewa and his wife, Dawn, didn't immediately know that he'd won the jackpot. A call and follow-up text message from Dawn's sister, who had heard the winning ticket was purchased in Suttons Bay, reminded Chippewa to check the tickets the day after the drawing.
"After I bought the tickets, I had put them away in my truck," Chippewa said. "I ran out to take a look at them and I didn't have to look past the first line to see I was the winner. Of course, my wife and son thought I was playing a trick, so my son pulled the numbers up on his phone and read them out loud while Dawn and I looked at the ticket together. By the time he was done, we both had tears in our eyes."
The Chippewas confirmed the win with a return trip to the party store where the tickets were purchased.
"As soon as we walked in, the clerk asked: 'Are you guys the big winners?'" Chippewa said. "I handed him the ticket and said: 'We're about to find out.' When the terminal printed a receipt saying to contact the Lottery, we knew our lives had changed."
Back home, the Chippewas held a family meeting and told the news to all seven of their children.
"There were a lot of emotions in that room because we've always put our family first and it hasn't always been easy, but all of them were so happy for us," Chippewa said.
He opted to receive the prize as a $55.3 million lump-sum payment which, after taxes, will be about $42 million.
"With seven children and 21 grandchildren, I've always said that I might not have the most money, but I am rich with family," Chippewa said. "Now, I have all the money I'll ever need and can help my family for generations. That means everything to me."
He plans to share the newfound wealth with his family by purchasing homes for himself and each of his children. However, he also has something special planned for himself — a new Harley-Davidson motorcycle and white Dodge Challenger.
And Chippewa still goes to work every day.
"Winning is life-changing, but it's not going to change who we are," said Chippewa, who is a member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. "My wife and I have been together for 25 years, we've always helped others and we're both still working.
"Every day when I come to work my boss asks me: 'Why are you here?' I just tell him that I was hired to do a job and I'm not going to abandon anyone just because I won. We'll both retire in time, but we believe in being good to the community that has been so good to us."
(Click to display full-size in gallery)
(Click to display full-size in gallery)
Love feel good stories like this, down to earth folks winning big.
Did I miss if it was Quick Pick or his own #'s?
Ya just never know if you're goin' to Win!
Congrats to the Winner!
What a blessing for this large family, appears everyone will be a winner. Congrats to them all.
JUST saw the guy who won the $80 Million Powerball jackpot from Michigan from Sep 21,2019 Draw and cashed in $42 Million....
He bought 4 QP tickets on the day of DRAW @ EXACTLY 12:27:17 PM....THATS THE SYSTEM TRY IT GOOD LUCK
Congrats to Phillip and Dawn Chippewa!! Power Ball winners.
According to my notes they still owe another 13% to the IRS.
How can someone play exactly at that time to the second? maybe one person can time it if they're lucky when it's their turn at the till.
Very difficult to play at exact time like that.
Yes they still have more taxes to pay.Phil will probably end up in the low $30mil range after the dust settles. Hopefully Phil has a plan in place to carry his money forward for generations.
Paying for College and Trade School is an investment for generations. Keep your College graduates debt free. No school loans.
Start with a 2 year Community College and than transfer all those credits to the 4 year College.
What is your opinion on sending the Grand kids to private school? !st - 12th year?
There could be a Doctor or an Attorney in the mix.
I hope he does not spoil them.
Probably by telling the cashier to try it I think the cashier can match the time exactly
I don't think he planned out the timing of his purchase.
Says "he was about to walk out the store without buying the tickets but at the last minute he decided to buy four!"
What is the significance of his purchase being @ 12:27:17 PM? Does Michigan stop selling PB/MM tickets @ 12:30 in the Afternoon? Just asking i don't know what Michigan ticket purchase rules are..
Seems Very Early in the day to stop selling tickets for drawing that doesn't take place until 12:00 AM Eastern time.
Arizona cut off time in the summer is 7 PM (well) 6:58 there about and 7:57-58 PM in the Winter since we do not participate in Daylight Savings Time.
Congratulations to the Entire Chippewa Family, may all the Blessings and Spirits of Mother Earth continue on in your Family...
Way to go Native American Indians!
Congrats to the lucky guy and his family.
I found the following on You Tube. The Ticket - Full length Documentary April 11, 2015
The last part featured Dennis Sanfillipo. He purchased 11 tickets at exactly 11 pm and won $32,000,000.00
His story is titled 7's and 11's. This is explained in the show.
My opinion Music is : How Phil & Dawn spend their money is none of my business. They love their family, want the best for them & that is all that matters.
Btw: Commissioner Brian & Dawn have somewhat similar facial features-unknown distant cousins perhaps?
Have a good weekend- win something while you at it.
You are entitled to your opinion noise-gate.
I am throwing out ideas. Some things that they might not have thought about.
Whatever happened to MI Lottery Commissioner Scott Bowen? He interviewed Julie Leach and the railroad engineer Donald Lawson. Both are listed in Related Stories located at the top of this thread.
You win something this weekend!
He didn’t plan anything
It was this exact timing buying 4 tickets QP that did the trick
l am " afraid " to give an opinion on your question " Whatever happened to MI Lottery Commissioner Scott Bowen."
.
Bluedog101.
Does it really matter if it's self or machine pick?
The numbers I've been working on, for a couple decades have yet to be picked.
When it's meant to be, it's meant to be!
People often ask....Why them and not me?
Well, go out and buy your ticket at the exact moment a ticket with the winning numbers is printed on it and you too can be the winner.
Do the numbers on the ticket match the numbers drawn or do the numbers drawn match the numbers printed on your ticket?
play or not ....
computer pick or choose your own ....
win or lose .... matters little .......
should I try it for qp?
Of course QP just like the winning multi millionaire man
Yes, and then start a thread for the 849th time to ask if your numbers are lucky.
Father of 7 and grandfather of 21? When did he find time or the money to play the lottery?
Find time? Phil is a biker, those guys always find time for babymaking.All that riding around on a hog builds up the testosterone. Where does he find time..sheesh!
l bet soup for nuts that if Phil turns around, one would see a foot length ponytail. Receding hairline up front, but one can alway count on the faithful PT to be back there. l see it all the time out here- it's a universal calling card, typical of bikers LGB.
* l know l changed the direction of your question , but hey..
How do we know if these really random drawings ,how we suppose to know these winners arent working with the lottery to bring in more currency..... IT SEEMS LIKE THE LOTTERY PICK AND CHOOSE WHERE THEY WANT THE WINNERS TO BE AND NOT JUST A RANDOM PICK OF WINNERS....ITS A TRENDING TOPIC OF US SEARCHING FOR PROOF😉
We spend our hard earned money constantly just to win $2 great job lottery..... GODBLESS
You know what, you could be onto something Rubber. l distinctly " recall" a flyer in my mailbox & email from the MUSL asking me specifically if " l had 7 children, was a Grandfather of 21." l dismissed it as a hoax, but l can see where you going with this. l guess, had l replied " Yes to all of the above" it could have been my jackpot win instead of Phil's.
l am literally getting sick to my stomach just thinking about it, you will have to excuse me...
There is only a 4% chance of any Powerball ticket winning something so for every $200 you wager, expect 4 of your tickets to win something. And with a minimum 1 in 701 chance for a ticket to "win" $7 those 4 "winning" tickets will probably we worth $16.
Somebody somewhere will win a large jackpot and the winnings come from the other players. Some people because they contributed, believe their opinions on the winner should spend their money means something, but it doesn't.
I was asked my opinion on who should win the World Series and after giving it, they proceeded to explain why I was wrong. There is a huge difference between being asked for an opinion and randomly offering one and IMO, it's rude to ask for an opinion and then discount it because they don't like "your opinion".
Now if you just randomly offer an opinion, you're fair game.