LANSING, Mich. — A Mecosta County man has a friend to thank after winning a $198,857 Fantasy 5 jackpot from the Michigan Lottery.
James Snyder from Barryton matched the numbers in the July 12 drawing to win the big prize: 12-17-25-31-33.
The set on numbers was given to Snyder years ago by a friend, and he’s placed the same set of numbers every day since.
“I like playing Fantasy 5 because it’s a Michigan-only game,” said the 62-year-old winner. “About seven years ago, my friend gave me this set of numbers and I have played them each day since.
Snyder bough his ticket at the East Bay General Store in Chippewa Lake.
“The day after the drawing, I took a break from working in my basement to check the numbers. When I saw them on my phone, I knew right away they were the numbers I play. I ran upstairs and had my wife confirm I was the big winner. As soon as she saw the prize amount, she grabbed the ticket and took it to the safe!”
The Barryton man says he plans to use his winnings to pay some bills and invest.
