LANSING, December 1, 2010 – Christmas could come early for a lucky Lottery player who claims a $250,000 prize that is about to expire!

A Mega Millions ticket worth $250,000 from the December 4, 2009 drawing will expire on December 4 of this year. The winning ticket was purchased at Lake Lansing Mobil in Lansing.

The winning numbers were 04-33-41-51-56 with a Gold Mega Ball of 38. Players must match the first five numbers exactly as shown to win the prize and must have their original ticket.

Because the prize is set to expire on Saturday, December 4 and the Lottery office will be closed, the prize must be claimed by 4 pm in Lansing on Monday, December 6. The winner must contact the Lottery’s Public Relations Division at (517)373-1237 to set up an appointment to claim the prize.

All Mega Millions tickets are valid for one year of the draw date. If the prize goes unclaimed, the money will be deposited into the state School Aid Fund, which is the beneficiary of all Lottery profits.

Over 94 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 2010, the contribution to schools was $701.3 million. Since its inception in 1972, the Lottery has contributed more than $15 billion to education in Michigan.

For additional information on Fantasy 5 and unclaimed prizes, please visit the Lottery’s Web site at https://www.michiganlottery.com/ .

# # #