LANSING, July 25, 2008 - A July 18 Mega Millions ticket proved lucky for James Priest of Emory! He matched four white ball numbers and the gold Mega ball and won $10,000!

Priest, who has played the Lottery for the last 14 years, learned of his good fortune on TV. He plans to use his prize money to pay off his RV and to travel.

The lucky winning easy pick ticket was purchased at 7-Eleven, 102 E. Washington St., in St. Louis.

Mega Millions is a multi-state lottery game in Michigan, California, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and Washington. Wagers cost $1 each and tickets may be purchased at nearly 11,000 Michigan Lottery retailers statewide.

Over 95 cents of every dollar spent on Lottery tickets is returned to the state in the form of contributions to the state School Aid Fund, prizes to players and commissions to retailers. In fiscal year 2007, the contribution to schools was $748.9 million. Since its inception in 1972, the Lottery has contributed more than $14.3 billion to education in Michigan.

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

# # #