Shaun Nichols (center) poses for a photo with his parents, Connie and Bob, after collecting his Fantasy 5 jackpot at Lottery headquarters in Lansing.
Dreams do come true. Just ask a Lapeer man who won a $363,212 Fantasy 5 jackpot from the Michigan Lottery.
Shaun Nichols works as a bartender at Castaway’s Food and Spirits, and is well known there for always having a positive outlook.
“When things are tough, I always tell people ‘I’ll get through it because I know one day I’ll win the Lottery,’” said Nichols. “It finally happened!”
Nichols won the $363,212 jackpot by matching the five numbers drawn in Saturday’s Fantasy 5 drawing – 01-13-29-31-39 – with a ticket he purchased at Castaway’s, located at 4058 Hunt Road in Lapeer.
“I play Fantasy 5 pretty regularly and bought a $1 easy pick on Saturday night,” Nichols said. “On Monday when I got to work I scanned my ticket and I didn’t recognize the message. After that I compared it to a printout of the winner numbers and my jaw dropped.
“I ran into the kitchen to tell my coworkers and they couldn’t believe I was the big winner.”
Shaun Nichols’ jackpot winning Fantasy 5 ticket.
Next, Nichols shared the good news with his 11-year-old son.
“I’m always telling my son that things are going to be OK and that we’re going to make it,” said Nichols. “When I told him the good news, we both cried tears of joy.”
Nichols long has planned what he would do if he ever won a Lottery jackpot. He’s got some big plans for his big prize: after buying a new home and new car, he’ll take a vacation with his son.
“It feels so great to finally win, and I’m speechless. I just thank God. This is proof that if you truly believe in something, good things will happen,” Nichols said.
Each Fantasy 5 play is only $1. For an additional $1 per play, EZmatch may be added to a Fantasy 5 ticket, giving players a chance to win up to $500 instantly. Fantasy 5 players select five numbers from one to 39. Players who match all five Fantasy 5 numbers drawn win a jackpot guaranteed to start at $100,000. Fantasy 5 drawings are held seven days a week at 7:29 p.m. Tonight’s Fantasy 5 jackpot is $115,000.
