LANSING, July 25, 1997 – A Berrien Springs man said life "is going to feel pretty good now."

It ought to; he was the only player to match all six winning Lotto numbers drawn July 5, winning a $6.6 million jackpot that sat unclaimed for more than two weeks.  The winning numbers in the July 5 Michigan Lotto drawing were: 3, 10, 12, 20, 26 and 30.

The winner, who requested anonymity, came to Lansing this week to collect his first installment of $330,000, before taxes, to be followed by 19 annual installments.

"Sometimes I don’t check my tickets for months at a time," he said.  "But on Tuesday I saw an article in the Herald-Palladium about the unclaimed ticket, and I knew I had purchased my tickets at that Total Petroleum store.

"I had the hope that someday maybe I’d win, but I don’t know if I ever really believed it," he said.  "It was a major shock!"

Employed as a building maintenance man, the winner said he has been a Michigan Lottery player for 15 years.  When asked how he would use his winnings, the winner said that sometime in the future he would "buy a new house and a new car, help our family and travel.  We’ll do a lot of the things we never did before!"

His winning "easy pick" Lotto ticket was purchased at Total Petroleum #2749, 105 N. Cass St., in Berrien Springs.

Saturday’s (July 26) Michigan Lotto jackpot is estimated at $6.4 million, and tonight’s (July 25) Big Game jackpot will be $5 million.

# # #