“It was a great feeling, and I’m still in shock,” newly minted lottery-winning millionaire Valerie Williams said. The 65-year-old Westland grandmother then went on to describe last week’s life-changing phone call. The one she nearly ignored, thinking it was another scam. Williams won the top prize in the lottery’s Electric Giveaway event at Comerica Park. She’d been randomly picked as one of five finalists invited to the ballpark. Now she’s figuring out how to tell her bank about the sudden seven-figure deposit!
She didn’t have a winning ticket at all, though! It began with Mary Williams scanning her losing Electric Family lottery tickets through Michigan’s lottery app. It is a routine task most people do before throwing tickets away.
She was taken into a second-chance drawing that she was not aware of, thanks to those scans. “When I saw an incoming call from the Michigan Lottery one day, (…) I assumed it was a scam,” Williams recalls very clearly. Yet curiosity took over. “I was shocked to find out that I was chosen as a contestant in the $1,000,000 Electric Giveaway!” The final event took place live during a Tigers-Braves game on September 19 at Detroit’s Comerica Park. Each one of the five contestants was given a color from a wheel that spun as they lined up on the field. She became a millionaire right away when the pointer stopped at Williams’ color — green.
Days after the win, she said, still sounding stunned,
“All I kept thinking to myself was, ‘No way!'”
Williams’ reaction caught attention across Michigan. She and her husband aren’t planning wild splurges yet. First up? A quiet vacation. Beach time seems a sensible start for the new millionaires. Since June, Michigan’s Electric Family game has paid out $74 million. But Williams’ win hits different: proof that second chances, however unlikely, can change everything.
Our newest millionaire!! Congratulations to the $1,000,000 Giveaway winner, Valerie Williams! pic.twitter.com/DYsqm1DCoZ
— Michingan Lottery (@michinlottery) September 22, 2025
There is a downside to gambling that should not be overlooked for every odd win here and there, like Valerie Williams’. Like drugs or alcohol, betting can rewire the brain’s pleasure centers, say Mayo Clinic experts. They can sometimes lock users into unbreakable cycles.
RELATED: 11 Haunting Lottery Horror Stories, Where Winning Millions Turned Into a Nightmare
Warning signs include thinking about bets all the time, taking greater risks for the same rush, or feeling stressed when trying to stop. Without help, this could spiral into conflict between people and financial difficulties. Keep in mind that jackpots are not typical. The majority of players leave with nothing. Free, private counseling is available at gamtalk.org or the National Problem Gambling Helpline (1-800-522-4700) if gambling brings about problems for you or a loved one.
Williams’ story plays out like a movie as she nearly dismissed a suspicious call, but a spinning wheel that rewrote her life. It’s a nudge about life’s random gifts, and maybe a reason to (carefully) answer that unknown number next time. After all, it could be your turn!
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