LANSING, May 16, 2002 – The members of "The Big K Group" Lottery club of Redford Township were some of the last $150,000 winners from Michigan in The Big Game—which was replaced by Mega Millions on May 15. The members of "The Big K Group" Lottery club were thrilled to discover they had matched the first five numbers drawn in the May 7 drawing to win a $150,000 Big Game prize! The winning numbers for that day’s drawing were: 2, 22, 26, 39, 40 and the Big Money Ball number was 11.

The winning "easy pick" ticket was purchased at Marco’s Fine Wine & Deli, 7977 N. Wayne Road, in Westland.

The six members of "The Big K Group" Lottery club, who are general warehouse employees at the Kmart Distribution Center, each received a $25,000 prize, before taxes:

Daniel Campeau of Westland
Michael Giordano of Redford Township
Norene Hanchett of Livonia
Jean Hargadon of Redford Township
Elizabeth Hinton of Detroit
Michele Priestly of Canton

"We looked up the winning numbers on the Lottery’s Web site (www.michigan.gov/lottery)," said Jean Hargadon, the club’s representative. "When we realized we had won $150,000, I called some of the club members right away, and told the rest of them at work the following day. We were all very excited, but nervous at the same time! It has been hard to concentrate on anything since we discovered we won—some of us have even been unable to sleep! It still hasn’t sunk in that we won such a large prize."

Hargadon said she kept moving the winning ticket from hiding place to hiding place before turning it in at Lottery headquarters in Lansing. She added that some members of the club have mentioned that they plan to use their winnings to pay bills, pay for a wedding, make home improvements and just take some time to savor their good fortune!

The club members have been playing Lottery games together since 1995, and the club members said they are confident that their good luck will continue! Hargadon added, "We’ll be back for the jackpot someday!"

The group members said they enjoy playing Michigan Lottery games as a club, and added that they plan to reinvest some of their winnings in the Kmart Corporation.

The last Big Game drawing took place on Tuesday, May 14. On Wednesday, May 15, The Big Game was replaced by Mega Millions. No one matched all six numbers in the final Big Game drawing to win the jackpot, so the jackpot rolled to $25 million for the first Mega Millions drawing, which will take place on Friday, May 17. Mega Millions is a multistate lottery game in Michigan, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Virginia. Wagers cost $1 each and tickets may be purchased at more than 7,000 Michigan Lottery retailers statewide.

Mega Millions drawings are conducted every Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m. The next Mega Millions drawing is Friday, May 17, with an estimated jackpot of $25 million. For more information about Mega Millions, visit the Michigan Lottery’s Web site, www.michigan.gov/lottery.

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