LANSING, September 30, 2002 – A lucky Grand Rapids man, who purchased a ticket for the September 23 Keno drawing shortly before the drawing was to take place, said he was shocked to learn he had won a $250,000 top prize!
The winner, who requested anonymity, matched 10 of the 22 numbers drawn in the September 23, 2002 Keno drawing to win the $250,000 top prize – 9, 12, 20, 28, 33, 37, 41, 56, 65 and 74.
"I wasn’t planning on playing that day, but at the last minute I went to the store and bought a ticket," said the lucky man. "I saw the drawing results on television and was completely shocked! I couldn’t believe that I had won. The whole thing seemed so unreal that I looked up the winning numbers on the Lottery’s Web site (www.michigan.gov/lottery) as well to make sure that I had really won."
The 37-year-old winner purchased the winning ticket at My Food Market, 1242 Fuller Ave. NE, in Grand Rapids. Prior to turning the ticket in at Lottery headquarters in Lansing, the winner said he hid it in a drawer in his kitchen underneath some towels to ensure its safety.
The Keno winner, who enjoys golfing, assembling model rockets, and playing Keno in his free time, said he plans to use his winnings to buy a new car and a new house.
The winner, who has been playing Michigan Lottery games for the past 19 years, offered the following words of encouragement to other Michigan Lottery hopefuls: "Play the games and take chance, I did and I won big! It only takes one ticket to win!"
The Keno game is designed to appeal to players wanting better odds of winning a prize. To play Keno, a player selects 10 numbers between one and 80. The Lottery draws 22 numbers from the field of one to 80. Players win if they match six, seven, eight, nine or all 10 of the numbers on their ticket to the 22 drawn by the Lottery, or even if they match no numbers at all. A player matching 10 numbers wins $250,000; nine numbers wins $2,500; eight wins $250; seven wins $25; six wins $7 and matching zero numbers wins a free $1 instant game ticket.
Keno drawings are held every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Beginning on Wednesday, October 16, 2002, Keno game drawings will be expanded to seven days a week.
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