LANSING, April 28, 2008 - Michael Peterson of White Lake is a very lucky Mega Millions player! He matched four white ball numbers and the gold Mega ball number to win a $10,000 prize in the April 22 drawing!

The restaurant manager has played the Lottery regularly for the last 18 years. He was happy with his win and hid the easy pick ticket in his wallet prior to cashing it in at the Lottery's Sterling Heights regional claim center.

Peterson plans on taking his family on vacation with the prize money.

The lucky winning ticket was purchased at Sunoco of Highland Twp., 1575 S. Milford Rd., in Highland Twp.

Mega Millions is a multi-state lottery game in Michigan, California, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and Washington. Wagers cost $1 each and tickets may be purchased at nearly 11,000 Michigan Lottery retailers statewide.

Over 95 cents of every dollar spent on Lottery tickets is returned to the state in the form of contributions to the state School Aid Fund, prizes to players and commissions to retailers. In fiscal year 2007, the contribution to schools was $748.9 million. Since its inception in 1972, the Lottery has contributed more than $14.3 billion to education in Michigan.

For additional information, please visit the Lottery's Web site at www.michigan.gov/lottery.

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