A Novi man hit a jackpot in his first month of playing the Michigan Lottery’s Fantasy 5 game.

The lucky player, who chose to remain anonymous, matched the numbers drawn Friday to win the big prize: 04-15-16-17-36. He bought his winning ticket at the Valero gas station, located at 49435 Grand River Avenue in Wixom.

The EZMatch game and the odds of winning a jackpot attracted the player to Fantasy 5, which he began playing regularly about a month ago.

“I checked my tickets when I got home from work Saturday morning,” said the player. “I always go through and check my EZMatch numbers first, because I’ve had some pretty good luck winning my money back. This ticket caught my eye and I saw I matched all five numbers.

“Believe me, I checked it a few thousand times to make sure I was reading it right.”

The lucky 63-year-old player visited Lottery headquarters Tuesday to claim his big prize. With his winnings, he plans to pay some bills, buy a new car, and then save the remainder.

“This is such a huge blessing. It’s going to feel great paying off my bills and still having a little bit left over as backup,” the player 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 $117,000.