LANSING, March 7, 2002 – "I’ll be debt free!" Roy McGeorge of Lansing exclaimed upon learning he had matched the first five numbers in the March 5 Big Game drawing to win a $150,000 prize. The winning numbers for that day were: 2, 13, 15, 21, 46 and the Big Money Ball number was 3.

The lucky man, 52, chose his winning numbers based upon the ages of himself and immediate family members. The lucky ticket was purchased at Kroger #888, 6430 W. Saginaw Hwy., in Lansing.

McGeorge, who works as a team leader in the body shop at the Lansing Grand River Assembly Cadillac Plant, discovered he had matched five numbers when reading the Lansing State Journal. At first, he thought he had won a $1,000 prize. When he called Lottery headquarters in Lansing to double-check the winning numbers, he learned that he had actually won $150,000!

"I was shocked when the Lottery representative told me I had won a $150,000 prize," McGeorge said. "I was completely shocked and still am! I left work immediately because I wanted to get the ticket out of my wallet as soon as possible. My co-workers were teasing me, saying they were going to take the ticket away from me!"

There is no doubt that McGeorge and his wife Cynthia—who was equally surprised when her husband called her at work to share his wonderful news—will enjoy their windfall. McGeorge said he plans to use his winnings to pay bills.

"Just keep playing," McGeorge advises other Lottery players. "If you don’t play, you can’t win!"

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 7,000 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 8, with an expected jackpot of $30 million.

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