A Lake Orion man carried around his Fantasy 5 ticket for several days before realizing it was a $140,964 winning ticket!

Gregory DiFranks, 63, matched the Fantasy 5 numbers in the Jan. 30 drawing to win the big prize: 05-09-17-31-39. He bought his winning ticket at the Orion Market, located at 576 West Clarkston Road in Lake Orion.

“I stopped at the party store to grab a few things and purchased five Fantasy 5 tickets and five Lotto 47 tickets while I was there,” said DiFranks. “The next day, I was at my local bar, and someone asked where Orion Market was because they had sold a big winner. I forgot I’d purchased tickets, so I didn’t think much of it.

“I was going through my wallet a few days later and came across the tickets. When I checked them at a store, one of the Fantasy 5 tickets came up with a message to file a claim at the Lottery office. The person working scanned the ticket on the Lottery app for me and said: ‘You have the big winner!’ I called my wife and told her I was on my way home and I had big news to tell her!”

DiFranks visited Lottery headquarters recently to claim the big prize. With his winnings, he plans to take a trip to Mexico and then save the remainder.

“I’ve been playing the Lottery since it began, so it feels amazing to hit it big,” said DiFranks.

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. Tickets may be purchased at a retailer or online at MichiganLottery.com until 7:08 p.m. on the day of the drawing.