LANSING, April 14, 1999 – Deresa Schmidt of Harrison recently experienced a little lottery good fortune when she won $100,000 in the Lottery’s "Casino Fortune" instant game!

The Pilot Industry employee said she has been playing Michigan Lottery games for the past 26 years and couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw the winning ticket.

"When I scratched off the ticket I thought I had won $10,000," Schmidt said.  "I took it into the store where I bought it to have it verified and that is when I found out I had actually won $100,000.  I couldn’t stop shaking for two days and I haven’t slept since I bought the ticket!"

The winning ticket was purchased at Kerns Grocery, 2775 N. Dodge Lake Ave., in Harrison.  Prior to turning in the winning ticket at Lottery headquarters, the Coca-Cola™ memorabilia collector said her boyfriend kept it in his gun safe.

Schmidt said she already has special plans for her winnings.  She is in the process of purchasing a new home and she plans to buy a new car as well!

For other Lottery hopefuls, the lucky lady offered the following words of wisdom: "You can’t win if you don’t buy tickets!"

"Casino Fortune" is just one of many Michigan Lottery instant tickets available at more than 9,300 Michigan Lottery retailers statewide.  "Casino Fortune" is also the Lottery’s first non-holiday $10 instant game offering.

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