LANSING, August 17, 2009 – Lena Stewart of Manistique was the lucky winner of a $250,000 prize in the August 11 Mega Millions game.

Stewart used the birthdays and anniversary dates of family members for the winning own-pick numbers. She hid the ticket in a suitcase before claiming it at Lottery Central in Lansing.

The Manistique woman plans to give some of the prize money to charity and buy a new car.

The winning ticket was purchased at Lakeshore Oil Co., 1028 W. US Highway 2, in Manistique.

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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