Joseph Ballas (with fiancee Christine) of Sault Saint Marie claims $250,000 from the 07/10/2012 drawing of Keno!

The first thing Joseph Ballas does each morning before going to work is to check the weather and his Lottery numbers. On July 10 he had to look twice, because he wanted to be sure of what he was seeing. Ballas had matched 10 of the 22 numbers drawn for the Keno! game. He’d hit the jackpot!

Ballas, a hard-working 32 year old landscape manager, and his fiancée Christine, checked the winning ticket a few more times before they hurried off to work that morning. “He said, ‘Honey, it’s not the Mega Millions so we still have to go to work,'” laughed Christine.

Ballas began playing the Lottery regularly and in earnest about five years ago and always felt that he would win someday if he “stuck with it.” So, using a combination of birth dates and numbers he uses to play Fantasy 5, he won the Keno! jackpot of $250,000!

He plans to use the money to pay off some student loans and credit cards. “I’ll use some to have a little fun and then save or invest the rest. I’m just going to continue on with my daily life,” said Ballas.

The winning ticket was sold at Wesco #61 located at 4921 S. 220th Ave. in Reed 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