LANSING, June 17, 1999 – A Grand Rapids man stared at his Michigan Lotto ticket in disbelief when he realized he had matched all six winning numbers and was the sole winner of a $4 million Lotto jackpot!
The lucky man was the only Michigan Lottery player to match all six numbers in the June 12 drawing: 7, 12, 13, 33, 41 and 42.
"I stopped at the store to find out what the winning numbers were for the Lotto drawing," the winner said. "I saw the numbers posted on the wall and I couldn’t believe it, so I had the clerk run a winning number report. It was the same six numbers that were on the wall. My stomach was instantly in knots, and I still don’t know quite what to think!"
The Grand Rapids resident, who requested anonymity, said he has been playing Michigan Lottery games fairly regularly for the past 26 years. He purchased the winning Michigan Lotto "easy pick" ticket at Meijer Inc. #11, 1540 28th Street SE, in Grand Rapids.
The lucky man selected the lump-sum cash option payment for his winnings. He came to Lottery headquarters in Lansing to collect his one-time prize payment of $4,001,082, the present cash value of that day’s announced $7.7 million jackpot, before taxes.
The avid outdoorsman, who enjoys fishing, hunting and camping, said he plans to use part of his winnings to buy a new house and pay for his children’s college expenses. He is still thinking about what he wants to do with the rest of it.
The winner became the 25th Kent County resident in Michigan Lottery history to win a Lotto jackpot prize. The largest to date was an anonymous Wyoming resident who collected $21.1 million in the July 14, 1990, Lotto drawing!
Michigan Lotto drawings are conducted every Wednesday and Saturday. The expected jackpot for Saturday’s (June 19) drawing is $2.1 million.
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