A lucky Barry County man started shaking when a clerk at his favorite Michigan Lottery retailer told him that he had won a $131,496 Fantasy 5 jackpot.
“I had the strangest feeling come over my body and I started shaking after I found out I was the jackpot winner,” said Mark Wolfe. “Every time I talk about winning that feeling comes back, and I start shaking again.”
Wolfe’s jackpot-winning Fantasy 5 ticket matched the five numbers drawn Friday evening: 12-29-35-36-39. He bought his winning ticket at The Superette, located at 205 North Michigan Avenue in Hastings.
Wolfe, of Hastings, visited The Superette to check his Fantasy 5 tickets early Saturday morning and got a heads up from the store clerk.
“When I was scanning my tickets, the clerk told me that they had sold a Fantasy 5 jackpot winner for Friday night’s drawing,” said Wolfe. “The next ticket I scanned said to see the clerk and when she scanned it, she told me I’d have to go to Lansing because I was the jackpot winner.”
Wolfe visited Lottery headquarters in Lansing on Wednesday to collect the big prize.
“Last weekend was the longest, coldest weekend I’ve had in a long time,” said Wolfe. “Just waiting to call the Lottery and set up a time to come in, the wait seemed like forever.”
The 61-year-old Michigan Department of Corrections retiree plans to invest his winnings.
“My uncle won $50,000 playing the Lottery in the early 1970s. He invested and turned that into a nice inheritance for our family, and I want to do the same,” Wolfe 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 that starts at $100,000. Fantasy 5 drawings are held seven days a week at 7:29 p.m. Tonight’s Fantasy 5 jackpot is $100,000.