LANSING, September 24, 1999 — The 12 members of the "Sunshine Club" lottery club of Waterford are sporting sunny dispositions after winning a top Michigan Lottery prize!
The "Sunshine Club" matched the first five numbers drawn in the September 10 Big Game drawing, collecting the game’s $150,000 prize. That day’s winning numbers were: 16, 20, 31, 32, 48 and the Big Money Ball number was 6.
Club members, who work together in Waterford, include:
- Bradley Carlson of Lapeer
- Robert Cash of Highland
- Lynda Genat of Rochester
- Ramon Gutierrez of Pontiac
- Charles Harter of Ortonville
- Gregory Lawrence of Commerce Township
- William Martin of Lake Orion
- Kris Myrold of Wixom
- Carol Page of White Lake
- Douglas Patterson of Clarkston
- William Ryan of Waterford
- Thomas Wilson of Pontiac
The club members range from 38 to 62 years of age and are a mixture of married and single individuals.
"I almost never check our tickets, but for some reason I decided to check for the winning numbers in the paper for that drawing," William Martin, the club’s representative, said. "Usually another member of the club calls to let me know whether we won anything or not. This time it was my turn and I was happy I had good news to share! We were all completely surprised — none of us thought we would actually win!"
The winning Big Game "easy pick" ticket was purchased at Wine Captain Inc., 5380 Highland Road, in Waterford. Prior to turning the winning ticket in at Lottery headquarters in Lansing, Martin locked it in a cabinet to ensure its safety.
The club members, who have been playing Michigan Lottery games together for approximately one year, have a variety of plans for their winnings, including paying bills and saving for retirement.
The Big Game is a multistate lottery game in Michigan, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Virginia. Wagers cost $1 each and tickets may be purchased at more than 6,400 Michigan Lottery retailers statewide.
Big Game drawings are conducted every Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m. The next Big Game drawing is tonight, September 24 with an expected jackpot of $5 million.
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