LANSING, June 27, 2003 – Rene Perez of Lincoln Park received the shock of a lifetime upon learning she had matched the first five numbers in the June 20 Mega Millions drawing to win a $175,000 prize!  The winning numbers for that day’s drawing were: 1, 2, 3, 12, 37 and the Gold Mega Ball number was 35.

Perez, who works as a cashier at Farmer Jack, purchased the winning “easy pick” ticket at Rite Aid Discount Pharmacy 4545, 1998 Biddle St., in Wyandotte.

“I was watching the WJBK-TV Fox 2 news broadcast on Saturday morning,” said Perez.  “The station was airing a story on the big Mega Millions jackpot and displayed the winning numbers.  I was shocked to learn I had matched the first five numbers!  I started screaming with excitement!  My fiancé and I were surprised and thrilled to win.  I still can’t believe I was so lucky!”

Perez, who enjoys playing with her dogs in her free time, said she kept the winning ticket locked in a safe prior to turning it in at Lottery headquarters in Lansing.  She added that she plans to use her winnings as a down payment on a house and will invest the remainder for the future.

She offered the following words of encouragement to other Lottery hopefuls: “Keep playing! If it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone!”

On Wednesday, May 15, 2002 Mega Millions replaced The Big Game.  Mega Millions is a multistate lottery game in Michigan, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Virginia and Washington.  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 tonight, Friday, June 27, with an estimated jackpot of $12 million.  For more information about Mega Millions, visit the Michigan Lottery’s Web site at www.michigan.gov/lottery.

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