A Kent County, MI, man is the latest big winner in the Michigan Lottery’s Fantasy 5 draw game, winning $328,439. The anonymous 49-year-old player matched all five winning to take home the jackpot. He correctly picked the numbers: 12-15-20-24-39 in the April 8 drawing.
The winning ticket was purchased at the Beacon Bridge Market on 7501 US 131 in Fife Lake, which is about 15 miles southwest of Kalkaska. The player says he and his wife decided to make a quick stop at a convenience store while taking a road trip. Once they saw the Fantasy 5 jackpot was over $300,000, they decided to buy a ticket.
His wife checked the ticket while they were driving home and started screaming once she realized they’d won. The lucky player says he rolled down the window because he started sweating, and the ticket nearly flew out of the window. However, his wife retrieved it and put it in a safe place.
The player recently visited Lottery headquarters to pick up his big prize, which he says he plans to save. He called the win “surreal,” adding that he didn’t think it had yet fully registered. Therefore, the couple hadn’t made any plans on how to spend the money. However, he admitted that they will likely save most of it in order to be able to retire sooner than they previously expected.
The Michigan Lottery’s Fantasy 5 draw game costs $1 to play, and for an additional $1, players can add EZMatch to their ticket for a chance to win up to $500 instantly. Another $1 lets players add Double Play to their Fantasy 5 ticket for a second chance to win up to $110,000 in the Double Play drawing, which is held nightly.
Fantasy 5 jackpots are paid in one lump sum, with the jackpot shared equally if there is more than one winner. The current jackpot is estimated at $257,000.
To play Fantasy 5, players must select five numbers from one to 39 to play for a jackpot starting at $100,000 if they match all five numbers. The numbers are drawn seven nights a week at 7:29 pm. Players can purchase tickets online at MichiganLottery.com or any of the 10,500 Michigan Lottery retailers throughout the state.
