LANSING, November 29, 2011 – Michael Hopkins’ $200,000 winnings made it to the Lottery’s top unclaimed prizes list, because Michael didn’t discover he was a winner until four weeks after the fact!

Hopkins, who works two jobs to make ends meet, knew that someone had won at the restaurant he frequents. He just wasn’t aware that he was the big winner. “I found out a couple of weeks ago, but I didn’t immediately claim the prize because I thought it would be better for my taxes if I waited until next year.” The lucky player intends to keep both of his jobs and invest the money for retirement.

The winning ticket, which was for the October 15 Powerball drawing, was purchased at Gatsbys Restaurant, 45701 Grand River in Novi.

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 2011, the contribution to schools was over $727.3 million. Since its inception in 1972, the Lottery has contributed over $16 billion to education in Michigan.

For information on all Lottery games, please visit the Lottery’s Web site at www.michiganlottery.com.

 “The Michigan Lottery. All across the state good things happen.”