LANSING, October 4, 2010 – Four lucky Michigan Lottery players won $5 million in cash on the fall episode of Make Me Rich!, the Lottery’s game show. “Make Me Rich!”, which aired on Friday, was hosted by Christopher Knight, best known for his role as Peter Brady on the 1970s hit TV series “The Brady Bunch” and most recently as host of “Trivial Pursuit America Plays.”
Aaron Phillips of St. Clair Shores was the lucky winner of $1 million in the Money Match second-chance game. Other contestants participating included Michael LeClair of Oscoda and Athena Ziolkowski of Sterling Heights, who each received a $5,000 appearance fee.
Nameer Shair of West Bloomfield was the grand prize winner of $1 million in the Million Dollar Mega Play game. Other finalists participating in the game included Monika Carucci of Chesterfield and Alejandro Fellciano of Dearborn. Each finalist earned the right to appear on the show after each winning $1,000 on the Million Dollar Mega Play instant ticket. In addition to their $1,000 prize, non-grand prize winners were each given a $5,000 appearance fee.
Jani Jarbo of Troy was the grand prize winner of $1 million in the Instant Replay second-chance game. Other contestants, who each received a $5,000 appearance fee, participating in the show included John Paul Franckowiak of Clinton Twp. and Rita Ciuria of Warren.
Jean Morrison of Saginaw was the lucky winner of a $2 million prize in the $20 Instant games $2,000,000 drawing. Additional contestants for the game included Beverly Williams of Detroit, Joseph Lemrow of Edwardsburg, Elizabeth Patrus of Madison Heights, and Mia Jones of Warren. Each non-grand prize winning contestant received a $5,000 appearance fee.
Created by Hollywood game show producer Jonathan Goodson Productions, “Make Me Rich!” air new shows quarterly with a variety of exciting prizes. Christopher Knight will host future productions, with another show slated to air in the winter.
Contestants won the opportunity to appear on “Make Me Rich!,” by winning cash prizes on Michigan Lottery Instant games, including $1,000 on the Million Dollar Mega Play instant ticket and $1,000 on the Lottery’s $20 Instant games $2,000,000 drawing tickets. They also participated in Instant Replay and Money Match second-chance drawings on the Michigan Lottery’s player’s club Web site, www.michiganlottery.com.
Anyone interested in being a future contestant can get more information by visiting https://www.michiganlottery.com/ and clicking on “Make Me Rich!”.
Over 94 cents of every dollar spent on Michigan 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 $724.5 million. Since its inception in 1972, the Lottery has contributed more than $15 billion to education in Michigan.
For additional information on “Make Me Rich!” and other games, please visit the Lottery’s Web site at https://www.michiganlottery.com/.
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