LANSING, March 6, 2009 – Deborah Eckert, a long-time Lottery player from St. Clair Shores, matched four white ball numbers and the gold Mega ball number in the February 27 Mega Millions drawing to win $10,000.

The avid bingo player hid the winning ticket in a safe before cashing it at the Lottery’s Sterling Heights office. Eckert plans to build a new deck and pay bills with the prize money.

The lucky easy-pick ticket was purchased at Shores Canteen, 30631 Jefferson Ave., in St. Clair Shores.

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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