Carol Butler, of Black River, collected her big Club Keno The Jack prize from the Michigan Lottery on Tuesday.
Luck struck twice for an Alcona County woman playing Club Keno.
First, Carol Butler won $2 playing Club Keno while enjoying a night out with friends at the Eagles club, located at 6848 North U.S. 23 in Spruce. Then, Butler used her $2 winner to buy a one-draw five-spot easy pick with The Jack. Her lucky ticket matched all eight of The Jack number drawn – 05-19-32-34-37-59-68-74 – to win a $96,285 jackpot.
“I happened to be watching the monitor when the numbers were drawn, which is unusual for me,” said Butler. “I kept seeing the numbers come up one-by-one and was saying ‘I have that number, I have that number!’ By the time the drawing was finished, I was running around the Eagles yelling that I had won!”
After she settled back at her table, she immediately signed the back of her ticket and put it in a plastic bag to keep it from getting wet.
“People kept asking me to hold up the ticket so they could take my picture with it,” said Butler. “It was a lot of fun to be a big winner and I bought two rounds of drinks for our group! It’s hard to believe I really won The Jack! My Mom didn’t even believe me. She called me three times to ask if I was being serious!”
The next day, Butler, of Spruce, put her ticket in her employer’s safe. She checked to make sure it was still there every day, until coming to the Lottery office today to claim her big prize.
The 54-year-old Butler is an avid Club Keno player who enjoys playing Club Keno The Jack for a chance to win large cash prizes.
“We like to go to restaurants and bars that have Club Keno because it is a fun way to pass the time while out with friends,” said Butler.
With her winnings, Butler plans to pay for her son’s wedding, take a vacation and invest the remaining cash in a retirement account.
The Jack is a Club Keno bonus game that players may add to their Club Keno wager for just $1 per draw. With The Jack, players get eight easy pick numbers to match to the Club Keno numbers drawn. Players may win prizes ranging from $1 to the jackpot. The jackpot starts at $10,000 and grows until it is won. To win the jackpot, players must match all eight numbers.
Club Keno may be played at the 11,000 Lottery retailers across the state. Drawings are every three and a half minutes. Results and live drawings may be found online at www.michiganlottery.com.
