LANSING, December 4, 2006 – Dennis Elliott of Wales always planned to retire by his 59th birthday, and with the help of the Michigan Lottery, that wish will come true.
Elliott, 58, was the winner of $2 million in a drawing Friday night during halftime of the Detroit Pistons game at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
“I knew I was going to win,” Elliott said Monday after claiming his prize. “I don’t know how, but I just knew it.” Elliott will be 59 in February.
Elliott and his fellow finalists were randomly given colored Michigan Lottery t-shirts before the drawing and he ended up with purple. He saw it as a good sign, since his, his wife’s and other family members’ birthstone is purple.
Elliott, who is a backroom manager at Art Van in Port Huron, said he will remain on the job probably through January, since the holidays are a busy time for the store. “I don’t want to leave them hanging,” he said. He’s been with the company for 15 years.
But soon after that, he and his wife Linda, who has already retired from her job as a medical assistant, will be free to travel and enjoy their winnings. They also plan to create a college fund for each of their five grandchildren.
Elliott says he’ll keep playing the Michigan Lottery and hopes to be a winner in the Millionaire Raffle, for which his wife has purchased three tickets. That drawing is January 3, 2007.
Elliott was one of five finalists randomly selected from 1,519 players who had won $1,000 on a Michigan Lottery $20 instant ticket. The other finalists in the drawing, each of whom received $5,000 for their participation in the event, included Thomas Boussie of Eastpointe, Clark Peeples of Gaylord, Mary Laverty of Flat Rock, and Nita Rhemes of Detroit.
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 2006, the contribution was $688 million.
For additional information, please visit the Lottery’s Web site at https://www.michiganlottery.com.
# # #
