LANSING, October 10, 2008 – Ralph Smith looks forward to help pay his granddaughter’s college tuition with the $10,000 prize he won in the October 3 Mega Millions drawing. The lucky winner matched four white ball numbers and the gold Mega ball number.

Smith said “it’s about time” when he found out he won.  The long-time Lottery player has been playing for 20 years.  He previously won $2,500.

The lucky winning ticket was purchased at Grand River Express, 16535 Grand River Ave., in Detroit.

Mega Millions is a multi-state lottery game in Michigan, California, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and Washington. Wagers cost $1 each and tickets may be purchased at nearly 11,000 Michigan Lottery retailers statewide.

Over 95 cents of every dollar spent on Lottery tickets is returned to the state in the form of contributions to the state School Aid Fund, prizes to players and commissions to retailers. In fiscal year 2008, the contribution to schools was over $740 million. Since its inception in 1972, the Lottery has contributed more than $15 billion to education in Michigan.

For additional information, please visit the Lottery’s Web site at https://www.michiganlottery.com/.

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