LANSING, January 21, 2009 – Shawn Darby is a very lucky Mega Millions player. He matched five white ball numbers in the January 2 drawing and won $250,000!

The regular Lottery player from Ruby told Lottery officials that once he found out about his win, he couldn’t wrap his brain around it. He hid the easy-pick ticket prior to redeeming it at Lottery Central in Lansing, but wouldn’t reveal where.

The casino and family-loving man plans to pay bills, save for retirement and take a trip with the prize money.

Darby purchased his lucky winning ticket at Tommy’s Party Store, 10973 Gratiot Ave., in Casco.

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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