LANSING, July 26, 2000 -- William Doody of Grand Rapids recently found his pot of gold, courtesy of the Michigan Lottery! The lucky winner matched all six numbers and was the sole winner of a $1,039,242 Lotto jackpot.

Doody, 59, was the only Michigan Lottery player to Michigan match all six numbers in the July 19 Michigan Lotto drawing: 1, 13, 22, 24, 39 and 46. That day’s announced jackpot was $2 million. Doody, however, chose to receive his winnings in one lump-sum payment for $1,039,242, the present cash value of the jackpot before taxes.

"I stopped at Meijer to pick up a winning number report so I could check my ticket," he said.  "I took the printout home and checked my ticket there. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing!  I looked at my wife, Susan, and said ‘You’re a millionaire!’ We were both totally shocked and very nervous."

The couple was so shook up over their new-found wealth, they asked friends to drive them to Lansing so they could turn their winning ticket in to the Lottery.

"We were too nervous to drive ourselves to Lansing, so we called our friends, Ted and Karen Kowalewski, to be our escorts," Doody said.

The spray painter at Steelcase in Grand Rapids purchased the winning Michigan Lotto "easy pick" ticket at Four Star Service Station, 3428 Plainfield Ave. NE, in Grand Rapids. Prior to turningthe winning ticket in at Lottery headquarters in Lansing, Doody said he kept it with him at all times to ensure its safety!

Michigan’s newest millionaire, who enjoys traveling to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and collecting antiques in his free time, said he plans to use part of his winnings to help pay for his son’s upcoming wedding. As for what he will do with the rest of the money, he said he "hasn’t had time to think about it yet."

The lucky man encouraged other Lottery hopefuls to keep playing Lottery games: "It only takes one ticket to win, and you can’t win if you don’t play!"

The winner became the 27th Kent County resident in Michigan Lottery history to win a Lotto jackpot prize. The largest to date was an anonymous Wyoming resident who collected $21.1 million in the July 14, 1990 Lotto drawing!

Michigan Lotto drawings are conducted every Wednesday and Saturday. The expected jackpot for Wednesday’s, July 26 drawing is $2.1 million.

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