LANSING, May 21, 1999 – The three members of a Clinton Township lottery club recently became millionaires thanks to the prize they won in a Michigan Lotto drawing!

The club members held the sole ticket that matched all six numbers in the May 12 Michigan Lotto drawing to win the $18.7 million prize.  That day’s winning numbers were: 11, 19, 28, 40, 44 and 45.

"I watched the drawing on WDIV-TV 4," the club representative said.  "I started to shake when I saw that I had all of the numbers.  I didn’t know that we were the only winners until I heard it on the radio later that night!  I called the other club members right away to give them the good news."

The club members, who requested anonymity, said they play the Michigan Lotto game "only when the jackpot gets high."  They purchased the winning "easy pick" ticket at Garfield & Canal Shell, 16850 Canal Road, in Clinton Township.

The lucky winners chose the lump-sum cash option payment for their winnings.  They came to Lottery headquarters in Lansing to collect their one-time prize payment of $18,716,113, the present cash value of that day’s announced $36 million jackpot, before taxes.

The new millionaires said they "haven’t really thought about" what to do with their winnings.  They said they will likely purchase new vehicles and make investments.

"You dream about winning," the club representative said.  "You just never expect to!"

The last time the Michigan Lotto jackpot grew to the $30 million level was in December 1998.  One ticket matched the winning numbers drawn on December 19, 1998, and the jackpot was claimed by a Battle Creek resident.  That ticket was sold at Meijer Inc. #16, 2177 Columbia Ave. W, in Battle Creek.

Michigan Lotto drawings are conducted every Wednesday and Saturday.  The expected jackpot for Saturday’s (May 22) drawing is $2.6 million.  In addition, The Big Game jackpot continues to climb: tonight’s jackpot is estimated at $54 million!  The drawing will be conducted at 11 p.m.

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