The player would wager a few bucks out of his wallet whenever he went to his favorite convenience store, where his Mother happens to work.

One day in late April the player, who wishes to remain anonymous, took his tickets in to be scanned…by his Mom. “Not a winner,” she kept saying, then she got to the last ticket, and screamed! The scream brought the store manager who researched the ticket and told the player that he had won the jackpot from the April 28 drawing. He didn’t believe it, and she had to keep telling him “you’re the winner!”

Once he understood that he had won more than $6 million, he “cried like a little girl,” he said. His mother adds, “he had also turned purple.”

The lucky Classic Lotto 47 winner plans to pay off student loans with his winnings, which totaled $6,319,677, and buy a house. He also plans to travel, he just doesn’t know where yet.

The winning ticket was sold at 7-Eleven 159H located at 1915 Euclid Ave. in Bay City.

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.”

Contact:  Andi Brancato, PR Director  517-335-5648
Agency:  Michigan Lottery Public Relations