LANSING, February 2, 1999 – Don Maison of Imlay City celebrated his 54th birthday in style after hitting the big time with the Michigan Lottery’s Big Game! Two days before his birthday, Maison matched the first five numbers in the January 22 Big Game drawing to win the $150,000 prize. That day’s winning numbers were: 7, 16, 20, 23, 36 and the Big Money Ball number was 22.
"I called the party store where I bought the ticket to find out what the winning numbers were," Maison said. "When I checked the ticket against those numbers and saw that I had matched five numbers I didn’t know what to think! I didn’t realize right away how much I had won. When I found out it was $150,000 I was really impressed!"
The parts salesman for C.S. Dodge & Sons purchased the winning Big Game "easy pick" ticket at Len’s Party Store, 318 E. Capac Road, in Imlay City.
Maison said he has been playing Michigan Lottery games for the past 26 years. His favorites are The Big Game, Michigan Lotto and the instant games. Prior to turning the winning ticket in at Michigan Lottery headquarters in Lansing, Maison kept it locked up in a safe.
The avid golfer said he will use part of his winnings to purchase a new set of golf clubs and a new car. He said he plans to save the rest of the money for retirement.
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 Tuesday, February 2 – the expected jackpot is $60 million!
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