LANSING, March 6, 2009 – James Stadtfeld checked his March 3 Mega Millions ticket on the Internet and was shocked when he matched four white ball numbers and the gold Mega ball number and won $10,000.

The lucky Homer man hid the winning ticket in his wallet before cashing it at the Lottery’s Lansing office. Stadtfeld plans to pay bills and take a vacation with the prize money.

The lucky easy-pick ticket was purchased at Homer Shell #4350, 221 W. Leigh St., in Homer.

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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