LANSING, March 8, 2000 — Frank Ferretti of Eastpointe was shocked to discover he possessed a top prize-winning Michigan Lottery Big Game ticket! He could hardly believe his eyes when he saw he had matched the first five numbers in the March 3 Big Game drawing to win the $150,000 prize. That day’s winning numbers were: 02-05-14-38-47 and the Big Money Ball number was 04.

"I first saw the winning numbers in the Detroit Free Press," Ferretti said. "I thought matching the first five numbers paid about $500, so I woke my wife up to tell her I won $500. I then decided to take the ticket to a neighborhood store to find out for sure what the prize was. When I walked into the store they had a Big Game payout chart on the wall and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing — it said $150,000 for matching five white balls! I was completely surprised that the prize was so high!"

When not golfing, the winner said he enjoys playing Michigan Lottery games. He added that he has been playing Lottery games for the past 27 years and his favorites are Michigan Lotto, the Daily 4 game, instant tickets and, of course, The Big Game!

Ferretti purchased the winning Big Game "easy pick" ticket at Melvindale Fill Up, Inc., 4310 Oakwood Blvd., in Melvindale. The lucky man said he plans to share his winnings with his grandchildren.

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 Friday, March 10, with an expected jackpot of $7 million.

###