Player who tries out game for the first time wins the jackpot — because why not?

By Kate Northrop

A Michigan man experienced a bout of beginner's luck when he tried the Michigan Lottery's Fantasy 5 draw game for the first time and won a $286,938 jackpot.

A Michigan lottery player won a $286,938 jackpot on his first time playing Fantasy 5.

For one casual player, all it took to change his luck was trying out a new game. The 70-year-old man, who chose to remain anonymous, decided to see what else the Lottery had to offer online.

"I play the lottery a few times a year, and this was actually my first time ever playing Fantasy 5," the winner told the Lottery.

The Fantasy 5 ticket he purchased online for the March 26, 2024 drawing held the numbers 5, 19, 20, 32, and 35.

"The day after the drawing, I saw an email that I'd won a prize, but I assumed it was some sort of scam email," the Oakland County resident recalled. "I got on MichiganLottery.com and looked at the drawing results. When I saw the jackpot was won online, I knew it must be real!"

He visited Lottery headquarters in Lansing to claim his jackpot, the Lottery announced on Thursday. With his prize, he plans on remodeling his home.

The Fantasy 5 jackpot currently stands at $110,000 for the next drawing on Mon., May 6. Tickets cost $1 each. The odds of matching all five winning numbers to win the jackpot are 1 in 575,757.

Players may add the EZmatch feature to their ticket for an additional $1 per play for a chance to win up to $500 or the Double Play feature for a second chance to win up to $110,000 in the nightly Double Play drawing. Players may win prizes in the regular nightly drawing, the Double Play drawing, or both. Fantasy 5 drawings take place every day at 7:29pm EST.

The winning numbers, jackpot, and prize amounts can be found on Lottery Post's Michigan Lottery Results page.