LANSING, April 20, 1999 – Toledo resident John Adams literally took it all in stride when he found out he was a $150,000 winner in the Michigan Lottery’s Big Game!  Adams matched the first five numbers in the April 16 Big Game drawing to win the $150,000 prize.  That day’s winning numbers were: 1, 7, 10, 16, 36, and the Big Money Ball number was 36.

"Saturday morning after the drawing I woke up, played with my dog for awhile and then took him for a walk," said Adams.

"I stopped to pick up a copy of the Toledo Blade and remembered I had to check the Big Game numbers," he said. "When I saw them, I said to myself, ‘This can’t be true!’ and I continued to walk my dog for about two more hours.  I finally did get home, woke up my wife to tell her that we won and she thought I was pulling her leg."

Prior to turning in his winning ticket at Lottery headquarters in Lansing, Adams said he hid it in a book for safe-keeping. The 64-year-old winner has been a regular Michigan Lottery player for more than 20 years.  He plans to use his Big Game winnings to pay bills and for the purchase of a new home.

He said he picked his own Big Game numbers based on a few he’d seen in the paper.  The $150,000 winning ticket was purchased at Ellas Grocery, 6517 Telegraph Road, in Erie.  

The Big Game is a multistate lottery game in Michigan, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts and Virginia.  The next drawing will be conducted tonight (April 20) and the expected jackpot is $13 million.

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