Listening to a store clerk’s suggestion led to a Genesee County man winning a $587,245 Fantasy 5 jackpot.

The lucky player, who chose to remain anonymous, matched the Fantasy 5 numbers drawn on Aug. 14 to win the big prize: 03-24-25-27-35. He bought his winning ticket at The Liquor Carousel, located at 2372 East Hill Road in Grand Blanc.

“I buy one Mega Millions ticket for each drawing,” said the 70-year-old player. “When I stopped to buy my ticket, the clerk suggested playing Fantasy 5 because the jackpot was pretty high, so I decided to give it a try.

“That night, I matched three numbers and won $10. I reinvested that $10 in more Fantasy 5 tickets the next day and won $10 again. That happened a couple more times and then on Aug. 14, I won the big jackpot!

“When I checked my numbers, I was bewildered. I called my friend and asked him to read the numbers to me just so I knew I wasn’t seeing things incorrectly. I got off work late that night and called my daughter, who lives in California, to tell her the good news. She didn’t believe me and asked me to send a picture of the ticket. Then, she called me back crying tears of joy because she was so happy for me.”

The player recently visited Lottery headquarters to claim the big prize. With his winnings he plans to buy a new vehicle, a new set of golf clubs, and then save the remainder.

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. For an additional $1 per play, Double Play may be added to a Fantasy 5 ticket, giving players a second chance to win up to $110,000 in the nightly Double Play drawing. 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.