September 23, 2003 – Bradley Clevenger of Litchfield recently received a great birthday present courtesy of the Michigan Lottery.  He was shocked to learn he had matched the first five numbers in the September 12 Mega Millions drawing to win a $175,000 prize!  The winning numbers for that day’s drawing were:  16, 22, 23, 38, 46 and the Gold Mega Ball number was 45.

Clevenger, who works as a forklift operator, purchased the winning Mega Millions “easy pick” ticket at Save Time Inc. #5, 5900 Spring Arbor Road, in Jackson.

“I called the Lottery Link toll-free hotline (800-822-8888) to get the winning numbers for that day’s drawing,” said Clevenger.  “When I realized I had matched five numbers, I was completely shocked!  I was so surprised to win and it was even better to win on my birthday!”

The 40-year-old winner said he kept the winning ticket in his wallet at all times to ensure its safety prior to turning it in at Lottery headquarters in Lansing.  Clevenger, who enjoys playing softball, reading and working on computers in his spare time, said he plans to use his winnings to pay bills, purchase a Harley-Davidson® motorcycle and buy a new computer.  He added the following words of encouragement to other Lottery hopefuls: “You have to play to win!”

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 (Tuesday), September 23, with an estimated jackpot of $102 million.  For more information about Mega Millions, visit the Michigan Lottery’s Web site at www.michigan.gov/lottery.

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