LANSING, February 10, 2003 – Lucky residents in the Saginaw/Bay City area were shocked and excited to learn their spare change was turned into great cash prizes with the Michigan Lottery’s Change Play game!

Margaret Martinez of Bay City purchased a 25-cent wager for the February 1 Change Play drawing and was pleasantly surprised to win a $775 prize.

"I picked up a winning number report from a local Lottery retailer," said the lucky lady. "I am very excited to be a winner!"

Martinez, 43,who works at Saginaw Geriatric Home, purchased the winning ticket at Euclid Express Stop, 806 N. Euclid Ave., in Bay City.  Prior to turning the winning ticket in at the Lottery’s regional office in Bridgeport, Martinez said she kept it in her wallet at all times to ensure its safety. She added that she plans to use her winnings to pay bills.

Patricia Butler of Bay City purchased a 25-cent wager for the February 2 Change Play drawing and took home a $775 prize.

Bulter, who works as a human resources representative for Dow Chemical, purchased the winning ticket at AM/PM Convenient Food Store, 3366 E. Holland Road, in Saginaw.  The winner told Lottery officials that she discovered she had a winning ticket after seeing the winning Change Play numbers in the newspaper.

Butler, who enjoys cooking and reading in her spare time, said she was in "disbelief" upon learning she had a winning ticket! The lucky lady told Lottery officials that she plans to use her winning to pay bills.

Finally, Cliff Maxwell of Saginaw purchased a 45-cent wager for the February 3 Change Play drawing and won a $1,305 prize!

The lucky retiree, who said he has been playing Michigan Lottery games for the past 25 years, said he discovered he had a winning ticket after picking up a winning number report from a local Lottery retailer.

Maxwell, who said he was "excited" to learn he had won, purchased the winning ticket at McMack Food Store Inc., 5974 Dixie Hwy., in Saginaw.

The winner told Lottery officials that he kept the winning ticket in his pocket at all times before turning it in at the Lottery’s regional office in Bridgeport.  He said he plans to use his winnings to pay bills.

The first Change Play drawing took place on Monday, October 14, 2002 and drawings are held every night just after 9:00 p.m. Change Play allows players to use loose change from any purchase to buy a chance to win thousands of dollars with six guaranteed winners each day.  The six winning tickets are randomly selected in a computerized drawing that picks from all the unique wagers placed that day.  The six winners share the prize money from that day’s drawing, and their individual winnings are proportional to the amount they wagered on the winning ticket.

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