LANSING, April 18, 2005 – Everybody start your engines! The Michigan Lottery is bringing Matt Kenseth, NASCAR’s 2003 Winston Cup Champion, to Great Lakes Crossing shopping center Wednesday, April 27 to help launch the new Raceway Riches instant game. Kenseth will greet fans at 5 p.m. and officiate over six indoor races around the mall’s food court from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. Raceway Riches, which goes on sale April 25, features five instant tickets bearing the likenesses of NASCAR drivers Kenseth, Greg Biffle, Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson.
The April 27 event at Great Lakes Crossing is called the Checkered Flag Challenge and 20 lucky metro Detroiters will win a chance to race against local media celebrities on Razor “Straight Blade” Big Wheel Racers® with Kenseth waving the checkered flag. To enter the contest, adults 18 years or older may log on to http://www.shopgreatlakescrossing.com and take a fun NASCAR quiz. In addition to the chance to meet NASCAR’s Kenseth, fans can see Jeff Gordon’s #24 Chevrolet and authentic NASCAR memorabilia.
The 20 winners of the contest, chosen randomly from quiz results, will race in five heats against WXYZ-TV’s Shay Ryan and Vic Faust, WRIF-FM’s Doug Podell, WYCD-FM’s Mike Scott and WCSX-FM’s Steve Kostan. The winner of each heat will be in a sixth and final heat to determine the grand prize winner. The grand prize is a Razor Electric Go-Kart Racer and four VIP tickets to a NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Michigan International Speedway. All contestants will win NASCAR prizes and Michigan Lottery merchandise.
Raceway Riches is the Michigan Lottery’s newest $3 instant game. Players can choose from a series of five instant tickets with one of their favorite NASCAR driver’s picture on it. The game’s top prize is $50,000 and there are bonus drawings where players can win a trip to a NASCAR race of their choice and NASCAR licensed merchandise prize packages.
“Our instant games are all about fast fun and excitement and what better connection than to be tied to the thrill and speed of NASCAR,” said Michigan Lottery Commissioner Gary Peters. “We are always looking for new and exciting ways to enhance the playing experience and to ultimately generate additional revenue for the state School Aid Fund. We know Michigan players are going to love this new instant game.”
All proceeds from the Lottery are contributed to the state School Aid Fund which supports kindergarten through 12th grade public education in Michigan. In fiscal year 2004, the contribution was $644.8 million. For additional information, please visit the Lottery’s web site at www.michigan.gov/lottery.
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