LANSING, October 16, 1998 – Harry Armstrong of Pontiac recently became a big winner in the Michigan Lottery’s Big Game!  Armstrong matched the first five numbers in the October 9 Big Game drawing to win the $150,000 prize.  That day’s winning numbers were: 1, 23, 30, 47, 50 and the Big Money Ball number was 2.

"I didn’t even know I had won," he said.  "I was walking into VG’s Food Center, where I bought the ticket, and noticed they had a sign outside that said: ‘One $150,000 Big Game ticket sold here on October 9.’  I looked at the winning numbers they had listed and thought they looked familiar.  Then I looked at my ticket and realized I had matched five numbers.  I was so excited that I was out of breath!"

The 60-year old plays The Big Game and Lotto regularly.  Armstrong purchased the winning "easy pick" Big Game ticket at VG’s Food Center #512, 7300 Highland Road, in Waterford.

The General Motors retiree, who now works as a Zamboni driver for a local ice arena, placed the winning ticket in a book, coincidentally titled "The Most Valuable Book Ever Published," for safe-keeping prior to turning it in at the Lottery headquarters in Lansing.

Armstrong said he plans to donate a significant portion of his winnings to his church, use some of the money to start a cleaning business and continue thinking about what to do with the rest of it.

For other Lottery hopefuls, he offered the following advice: "You have to play all the time until you hit!  Your lucky day will come one day!"

The Big Game is a six-state lottery game which held its first drawing in September 1996.  Lotteries in Michigan, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts and Virginia contribute to the joint prize pool.  Big Game drawings are conducted every Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m.  The next Big Game drawing will be conducted tonight – the expected jackpot is $5 million.

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