MICHIGAN—On Friday, March 12, four people in the state of Michigan split the third-largest lottery prize in US history and the largest  in the state at $1.5 billion. The names have not been released from the Powerball drawing on January 22. Officials stated that the individuals are members of an Oakland County lottery club called The Wolverine FLL Club. The group chose to take a lump-sum payment of $776 million. After taxes, the club will take home $557 million. The winning ticket was bought at a Kroger in Novi.

The club’s attorney and representative Kurt D. Panouses published a press release talking where he stated:

“A club member saw a sign that the jackpot was up to $1 billion and remembered that they hadn’t bought their tickets yet, so they pulled into the Kroger.” He added, “This kind of money will impact the families of our club members for generations to come. We plan to stay humble and pay it forward through charitable giving in southeast Michigan.”

Kroger was entitled to a $50,000 bonus commission for selling the ticket, but they are planning to donate it to the Food Bank Council of Michigan. “When you play of course you dream of winning, but the reality of it has been incredible,” said Panouses.