LANSING, September 23, 1998 – Five metro Detroit residents recently experienced a lucky streak, as each claimed prizes ranging from $100,000 to $1.7 million! The winners include:
- An anonymous Dearborn Heights man who won a $1,766,711 Michigan Lotto jackpot;
- Michael Malega of Gibraltar who won $150,000 in the Big Game;
- Viola Schankin of Flat Rock who won $150,000 in the Big Game;
- An anonymous 25-year-old Belleville man who won $100,000 in the Cash 5 game;
- An anonymous 41-year-old Westland woman who won $100,000 in the Cash 5 game.
The Dearborn Heights man hit the jackpot and matched all six winning numbers – 2, 9, 13, 15, 16 and 46 – in the August 29 Michigan Lotto drawing. The lucky winner chose the lump-sum cash option payment instead of the 25-year annuity, and collected his one-time prize payment of $1,766,711 (before taxes). That amount represents the present cash value of that day’s announced $3.4 million jackpot.
"On Sunday night I was reading the paper and I saw our numbers," the Lotto winner said. "I thought maybe my glasses were dirty, so I took the ticket to my wife and she looked at it. She said, ‘We’ve matched 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, all 6!’"
The winning Michigan Lotto "easy pick" ticket was purchased at Boardwalk Party Shoppe, 27310 Ford Road, in Dearborn Heights.
The two $150,000 Big Game winners – Malega and Schankin – each matched the first five numbers drawn in two separate Big Game drawings.
Malega’s luck hit on July 24 when the winning Big Game numbers chosen were: 7, 15, 18, 31, 35 and the Big Money Ball number was 19. The winning "easy pick" ticket was purchased at Gibraltar Party Station, 29104 N. Gibraltar Road, in Gibraltar.
July 21 was Viola Schankin’s big day! The winning Big Game numbers for that day were: 3, 7, 8, 11, 20 and the Big Money Ball number was 25. The winning ticket was purchased at Wink Mart, 9152 Inkster Road, in Romulus.
The two anonymous Cash 5 winners each matched all five numbers in separate drawings to win the top prize of $100,000 each.
The 25-year-old Belleville man’s lucky Cash 5 numbers were drawn on July 10 – 7, 13, 14, 18 and 23. His winning ticket was purchased at Vi’s Market, 21625 Sumpter Road, in Belleville.
"My mom checked the ticket, and at first thought it was a $350 winner," the winner said. "She never expected we would have all five. We checked it 10 times and then called Vi’s Market to double check."
The winner said he plans to open up his own trucking business with his winnings.
The 41-year-old Westland woman had the luck of the draw on July 6, matching all five numbers – 1, 11, 15, 17 and 24 – in that day’s Cash 5 drawing. The winning ticket was purchased at Uncle Joe’s Market, 5750 S. Merriman Road, in Wayne.
"I happened to miss the drawing, but saw the numbers across the screen during ‘Entertainment Tonight,’" the winner said. "They looked familiar, but I wasn’t sure. I ran to the kitchen where the ticket was and called Lottery Link hotline (800-822-8888) just to make sure. My husband called the Lottery Bureau, and they said ‘you’re definitely a winner.’"
A regular Michigan Lottery player for 15 years, she said that her winnings will now allow her husband to semi-retire. The two of them also said they plan to use some of the money to pay off bills, make investments and possibly take a trip to Disney World.
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