A Genesee County man is looking forward to being debt-free after winning a $172,867 Fantasy 5 jackpot from the Michigan Lottery.

The lucky player, who chose to remain anonymous, matched the numbers drawn on Wednesday – 07-25-26-28-34 – to win the big prize. He bought his winning ticket at the Meijer store, located at 2474 West Hill Road in Flint.

“I was doing some computer work last night when I saw it was time to check the numbers,” said the player. “As I was looking them over, I thought ‘these look really familiar,’ and I went to get my ticket.

“After I saw I matched all five numbers, I called my wife so she could double check my ticket. My wife was skeptical, and said we should wait until the morning to make sure we were reading it right.”

Once the couple saw the winning numbers on the morning news, they knew they were big winners and headed to Lansing to claim the big prize.

With his winnings, the 80-year-ol Marine veteran plans to pay off his bills and save the remainder.

“We live day-to-day, and winning this is a weight off our shoulders, but it won’t change the way we live,” said the winner.

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.