LANSING, December 10, 1998 – For Marvin Cooper of St. Clair, the Michigan Lottery’s Big Game is the biggest game in town!  Cooper matched the first five numbers in the December 4 Big Game drawing to win the $150,000 prize.  That day’s winning numbers were: 7, 16, 28, 30, 43 and the Big Money Ball number was 4.

"I stopped at the gas station on the way home from work and bought five Big Game tickets," Cooper said.  "I went to bed that night without even watching the drawing.  When I got up the next morning I called the Lottery Link hotline (800-822-8888) to find out what the winning numbers were from the night before.  When I realized I had won, I was so excited that I woke my wife up at 5:30 a.m. to tell her!"

Cooper purchased the winning Big Game "easy pick" ticket at 257 BP Inc., 7855 Fred W. Moore Hwy., in Casco.  Prior to turning the winning ticket in at Lottery headquarters in Lansing, Cooper placed it in a "special book" for safe-keeping.

The pipe fitter, who has been playing the Michigan Lottery for the past 26 years, said he plans to use his winnings to pay off his house and cars and put the rest away for his retirement.  Cooper enjoys hunting and fishing in his free time.

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 on Friday, December 11 – the expected jackpot is $7 million.

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