LANSING, November 9, 2009 – Gregory Vanherweg was the lucky winner of a $250,000 prize after he matched five white balls in the November 6 Mega Millions drawing!

The Auburn man checked his easy-pick numbers on the Lottery’s Web site and was shocked and excited to learn he had won the second-tier prize. The long-time player plans to use some of the prize money to repair his house and pay for college. He plans to invest the remaining prize money.

The winning ticket was purchased at Fruitland Market, 1646 W. Midland Rd., in Auburn.

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 2009, the contribution to schools was more than $715 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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