LANSING, June 26, 2009 – Ziylon Allawerdi of West Bloomfield was the lucky winner of $2 million during a live, televised drawing conducted by the Michigan Lottery following the International Freedom Festival fireworks in Detroit Wednesday night.

The West Bloomfield man and four other finalists qualified for the drawing by claiming a $1,000 prize in one the following $20 Instant games:  “$35,000,000 Riches”, “Casino Fortune”, “Multi-Millions”, “Casino Royale”, “$2,000,000 Diamond Dazzler”, and “Lucky Game Book”. The five lucky finalists were chosen from a pool of 680 entries.

Allawerdi has made no specific plans for the prize money but says he will definitely take a trip to Disney World in the near future.

Other finalists in the drawing, each of whom were awarded a $5,000 appearance fee, included Paul Sherzer of Livonia; Nicole McElligatt-Collins of Howell; Jacklin Hazim of Warren; and Robert Culver of Sterling Heights.

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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