A Washington state man’s trip to Michigan to visit family and friends turned out to be a profitable journey when he won $162,698 Fantasy 5 jackpot.

The lucky player, who chose to remain anonymous, won the jackpot by matching the numbers drawn on Aug. 10: 08-13-19-33-35. He bought his winning ticket at Nixon’s Grocery, located at 15998 W. Brant Road, in Brant.

The winner said he stopped in to the store to buy cigarettes and decided on a whim to try his luck with some Easy Pick Fantasy 5 tickets.

“I left the tickets with my mother when I went back to Washington.  I thought I’d won a few bucks with them and told her to cash them in and keep the money,” he said.  “When she called me and told me she thought I’d won the jackpot, I thought she was kidding me.  I just couldn’t believe it.”

After checking the numbers on the Lottery website, then with a call to the Lottery, the winner booked another plane ticket to Michigan.  He collected his winnings today during a visit to Lottery headquarters.

“I still can’t believe I won the jackpot.  It’s really going to make a difference in my life,” said the winner, a native of Saginaw County.

The player said he plans to pay off some bills, buy a new car, and then save the rest for to help take care of his family’s needs.

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 $186,000.