LANSING, January 29, 1999 – Thomas Beatty of Kingsford experienced a bit of Lottery luck recently when he won the $100,000 top prize in the Michigan Lottery’s Cash 5 game!

The 54-year-old winner matched all five numbers – 7, 10, 13, 18 and 20 – in the January 22 drawing.  The winning ticket was purchased at Monette’s IGA, 375 Woodward Ave., in Iron Mountain.  Beatty is the 12^th Upper Peninsula resident to win the $100,000 Cash 5 prize since the game’s debut in March 1992!

"For some reason the winning Lottery numbers weren’t published in the newspaper Saturday morning, so I called the Lottery’s toll-free number (800-822-8888) to check my ticket," Beatty said.  "I was pretty excited when I heard the numbers and saw that I had matched all of them!  I play the same set of numbers whenever I buy Cash 5 tickets, so I was really glad I had purchased a ticket for that drawing!"

The Kingsford man wasn’t the only one excited about winning big with the Michigan Lottery.  Alan Monette, the owner of Monette’s IGA, was almost as happy about the winning ticket as Beatty was.

"I am very excited and happy for the winner," Monette said.  "The entire community is excited about this!  I thanked the winner for buying his ticket at my store.  His win brought us a nice commission which my wife and I are going to use to take a trip to Florida!"

Beatty, who enjoys snowmobiling and snow skiing in his free time, said he plans to share part of his winnings with his family – two sons and a daughter, pay bills and take a trip with his wife.  Additionally, Beatty has one other special purchase he wants to make.

"My wife lost the diamond from her wedding ring a while ago, so I am going to use part of the money to buy her a new one," he said.

The lucky winner offered the following advice for other Lottery hopefuls: "Stick with your own numbers – it pays off!"

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

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