Berrien County Man Wins $128,166 Fantasy 5 Jackpot from the Michigan Lottery
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A Berrien County man thought his eyes were playing tricks on him when he won a $128,166 Fantasy 5 jackpot from the Michigan Lottery.
Odell Smith, of Benton Harbor, matched the Fantasy 5 numbers in the May 7 drawing to win the big prize: 07-15-20-29-32. He bought his winning ticket at Lambrecht’s Grocery, located at 2926 Niles Avenue in Saint Joseph.
“Fantasy 5 is one of my favorite games and I play it often,” said Smith. “I stopped to check my ticket at the gas station the day after the drawing and kept getting a message to file a claim. I told the employee working that their Lottery machine was broken because it wasn’t validating my ticket.
“I decided to take the ticket back home and check the winning numbers online. When I realized I’d matched all five numbers and was getting the message to file a claim because I won the jackpot, I was in disbelief. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me!”
Smith, 74, recently visited Lottery headquarters to claim the big prize. With his winnings, he plans to pay bills and then save the remainder.
Each Fantasy 5 play is only $1. For an additional $1 per play, EZmatch may be added to a Fantasy 5 ticket, giving players a chance to win up to $500 instantly. For an additional $1 per play, Double Play may be added to a Fantasy 5 ticket, giving players a second chance to win up to $110,000 in the nightly Double Play drawing. Fantasy 5 players select five numbers from one to 39. Players who match all five Fantasy 5 numbers drawn win a jackpot that starts at $100,000. Fantasy 5 drawings are held seven days a week at 7:29 p.m.
