LANSING, August 14, 2008 - Wendell Peeples matched the first five white Mega Millions ball numbers on Aug. 5 and won a $250,000 prize! He also had several other matches on the ticket, bringing the grand total to $250,600!

The Detroit man is a regular Lottery player who didn't believe his good fortune. The regular Lottery player plans to pay bills with some of his prize money, give some to family, and save the rest.

The lucky winning own-pick ticket was purchased at Livernois Food Center, 13230 Livernois Ave., in Detroit.

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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