A Taylor man thought he was the victim of an April Fools’ Day prank when he learned he won $100,000 playing Powerball.

Jeremiah Maher, 43, matched four white balls and the Powerball – 19-24-40-42-56, PB: 23 – in the April 1 drawing to win a $50,000 prize. Thanks to the Power Play, the prize was multiplied to $100,000. He bought his winning ticket at the 7-Eleven store, located at 20945 Ecorse Road in Taylor.

“I looked at my numbers after the drawing and I thought someone was pulling an April Fools’ Day prank on me,” said Maher. “It felt so unreal to see my numbers come up in the drawing. It’s definitely the most exciting April Fools’ Day I’ve ever had!”

Maher visited Lottery headquarters recently to claim his prize. He plans to put his winnings towards building a new house.

Powerball plays may be purchased for $2 each at Lottery retailers across the state and online at Michiganmilotteryconnect.casinowinning.net. A “Power Play” option that multiplies non-jackpot prizes by up to 10 times to a maximum of $2 million may be added to any Powerball play for only $1. For an additional $1 per play, Double Play may be added to a Powerball ticket, giving players a second chance to win up to $10 million in the nightly Double Play drawing.

The Powerball drawing takes place at 10:59 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday and may be watched live online at: http://milotteryconnect.casinowinning.net. Powerball tickets are sold in 45 states, Washington D.C., U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.