LANSING, December 22, 2008 – Esther Ball was surprised to learn she won $10,000 in Mega Millions! She matched four white balls and the gold Mega ball on December 16 to win the prize!

Ball used her siblings’ birthdates to pick the winning numbers and plans to renovate her bathroom with the prize money.

The lucky own-pick ticket was purchased at the Frenchtown Liquor Shoppe, 3616 N. Dixie Hwy., in Monroe.

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 $740.7 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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