LANSING, April 27, 2000 — The six members of the "Southgate Lottery Club" of Southgate are celebrating their new-found wealth after winning a top Michigan Lottery prize!

The "Southgate Lottery Club" matched the first five numbers drawn in the April 21 Big Game drawing, collecting the game’s $150,000 prize. That day’s winning numbers were: 14, 15, 34, 42, 44 and the Big Money Ball number was 8.

Club members, who work together at Clyde’s Carpet in Southgate, include:

David Carpenter of Wyandotte
Jerry Hoffman of Dearborn
Ali Hussein of Dearborn Heights
Gerald Murphy of Melvindale
Patrick O’Connell of Wyandotte
Ayman Safaoui of Warren

The club members range in age from 30 to 60 years of age and are a mixture of married and single individuals.

"I picked up a winning number report from the store and checked our ticket right away," Safaoui, the club’s representative, said. "I couldn’t believe it was real! I told everyone in the club immediately and they were all very excited!"

The winning Big Game "easy pick" ticket was purchased at 7-Eleven #21138, 13913 Eureka Road, in Southgate. Prior to turning the winning ticket in at Lottery headquarters in Lansing, Safaoui kept it in his wallet to ensure its safety.

The club members, who have been playing Michigan Lottery games together for the past year, have a variety of plans for their winnings, including paying bills and taking vacations.

The members of the club offered the following words of wisdom to other Lottery hopefuls: "Keep playing! If you have a feeling you will win, buy a ticket!"

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, April 28,
with an expected jackpot of $100 million!

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