Michigan Lottery prizes—more than just cold cash
by Commissioner Gary Peters

The purchase of a Lottery ticket is what creates the chance for a player to win a cash prize, but in many cases that’s not the end of the story. Michigan Lottery players have a selection of special drawings from which to choose, affording them an opportunity to win more than just cash.

Currently capturing player interest are the Detroit Red Wings second-chance drawings. Over the course of three drawings, more than 500 Red Wings merchandise prize packs will be awarded.

Also, one Grand Prize winner will be selected in each drawing to receive the choice of an all-expense-paid Red Wings home-game travel package, road-game package or a Sony® 42” LCD widescreen television. Players may enter the second-chance drawings by submitting their non-winning $2 Red Wings instant game tickets either by mail or online at the Lottery’s VIP Club, Player City. To date, over 65,000 entries have been received.

Player City members now have the opportunity to win a cocktail-table-sized Pac-Man arcade game. To enter, Player City members need only “redeem” 20,000 of their accumulated P.C. Points.

A maximum of 30 entries per member is allowed. Twenty additional winners will be selected to receive a Pac-Man baseball cap in the random drawing held on April 20.

In online games, we just finished Fantasy Flyaway, a very successful Fantasy 5 promotion in which players who spent $3 on a Fantasy 5 ticket received a coupon for a chance to win a trip to Paradise Island in the Bahamas. Hundreds of players participated, and 30 lucky winners are headed for fun in the sun.

Citizenship in the Michigan Lottery’s Internet VIP club, Player City, continues to grow by leaps and bounds, as over 85,000 players are now participating! Go to www.playercity.net to see what all the commotion’s about.

Speaking of Player City, we’ve just wrapped up the Lucky Dog contest that was held earlier this year through the Internet site. Over 1,000 Lottery players submitted their dogs’ photographs, and seven lucky winners were selected for the new $1 instant ticket, which will go on sale in April. Demand for this game will be high, so be sure to keep your dispensers stocked.

All proceeds from the Lottery are contributed to the state School Aid Fund, which supports kindergarten through 12th grade public education in Michigan. In fiscal year 2005, the contribution was $667.6 million.

For additional information, please visit the Lottery’s Web site at www.michigan.gov/lottery.