The Small City 'Entrepreneur' Magazine Named One of the Country's Most Innovative Is Also Home to the $1 Billion Mega Millions Winner We knew that Novi, MI was a hotbed for business investment, but couldn't have predicted it would be the epicenter of a historic lottery jackpot.
By Kenny Herzog Edited by Dan Bova
Last month, we hailed the Detroit suburb of Novi, MI as the number-two American-heartland city essential to the future of innovation. Clearly, we underestimated just how much mojo the industrious, Great Lakes-adjacent hub of roughly 60,000 people had going for it.
This past Friday, an as-yet-unnamed Michigonian purchased a winning, $1.05 billion Mega Millions ticket at a Kroger supermarket in Novi. It's the third-largest prize in U.S. lottery history. (Odds of winning were placed at one in 302.5 million. To put that into perspective, the total U.S. population currently stands a bit shy of 330 million.)
Related: The Best Cities for New Small Businesses (Infographic)
Novi Mayor Bob Gatt gloated to the New York Times over the weekend about both the jackpot and his city's high placement on BIZ Experiences's ranking of innovative cities. Hopefully whoever does come forward to claim their fortune feels as bullish on investment in Gatt's city as we do.
