William Riddle smiles after collecting his $208,910 Fantasy 5 jackpot.

Persistence paid off for an Oakland County man who won a $208,910 Fantasy 5 jackpot from the Michigan Lottery.

William Riddle, of Royal Oak, matched the Fantasy 5 numbers drawn Friday – 09-19-25-31-37 – to win the big prize. He bought his winning ticket at the Marathon gas station, located at 1708 Crooks Road in Royal Oak.

“I’ve been a loyal Lottery player since it all started in 1972,” said Riddle. “It feels wonderful to finally win a big one!”

Riddle picked his own numbers to win the $208,910 jackpot.

“I just went down the play slip, and filled in numbers as I went,” said Riddle. “There was really no reasoning behind it at all.

“I watched the drawing Friday night and wrote the numbers down. When I checked my ticket, it took about 10 looks before it started to set in that I had won.”

Riddle’s winning ticket.

Riddle, 76, visited Lottery headquarters today to claim his big prize. He plans to buy a new truck and then use the remainder for his retirement.

“I can finally officially retire,” said Riddle. “I’ve still been doing side jobs here and there to help people out, but as of Friday, I am officially done working. I never thought I’d win the Lottery and it really feels great.”

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 $121,000.