LANSING, August 20, 1997 – A Monroe man’s dreams of early retirement came true last week – he was the only Michigan Lotto player to match all six winning numbers in the August 13 drawing for a jackpot of $2,995,358!

The 52-year-old winner, who requested anonymity, received his first installment of $120,158, before taxes, to be followed by 24 annual installments of $119,800.

"I stopped at a store to find out if my ticket was worth anything; I’d been out of town so I wasn’t sure," he said.  "The clerk checked my ticket and said, ‘You’re not going to believe this but you’ve matched all six numbers!’"

"I went home to tell my wife and I came in the house shaking," he said.  "I told her we won and she said, ‘Oh, sure!’ Our dream has been to retire early and now we can!"

A regular Michigan Lottery player for 25 years, the winner said he will share his winnings with family and plan a "very early retirement."

The winning "easy pick" ticket was purchased at Clark #2113, 2062 S. Custer Road, in Monroe.  The winning Michigan Lotto numbers on Wednesday, August 13, were: 12, 22, 28, 34, 40 and 41.

Tonight’s (Aug. 20) Michigan Lotto jackpot is estimated at $2.1 million, and Friday’s (Aug. 22) Big Game jackpot is estimated at $11 million.

# # #