LANSING, January 7, 1999 – A Marshall woman received an unexpected holiday gift when she recently won the top prize in the Michigan Lottery’s Cash 5 game!

The 73-year-old winner, who requested anonymity, collected the game’s $100,000 top prize by matching all five numbers in the December 29 drawing – 4, 9, 23, 31 and 34.  The winning ticket was purchased at Spee-D-Mart #170, 319 E. Michigan Ave., in Marshall.

"I always watch the Cash 5 drawings on television, but the night these numbers were drawn I missed the first couple of numbers," she said.  "I didn’t find out until the next morning when I read the newspaper that I had actually matched all five numbers!  I was so excited that I called my kids at 6 a.m. to tell them that I had won!"

Prior to collecting her prize at the Lottery headquarters in Lansing, the Marshall woman had her son put the winning ticket in his wallet for safe keeping.  She already has several ideas about how she wants to spend her winnings.

She said she plans to donate some of her winnings to Feed the Children and St. Jude’s Hospital.  Additionally, she plans to buy a new pair of glasses and a new car for herself, purchase a monument for her grandson’s grave and travel to California to see her brother whom she hasn’t seen in 25 years!

The Marshall woman said she has been playing the Michigan Lottery since the day it started, and she has played the same set of Cash 5 numbers for the past three years.  She said the numbers have no special significance – she just likes to play them.

"You will eventually win if you keep playing the same numbers," she said.  "Don’t change your numbers!"

Cash 5 drawings are conducted every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Odds to win the $100,000 top prize are 1 in 575,757.  Tickets are available at more than 6,400 Michigan Lottery retailers statewide.

# # #