LANSING, Mich. — "I was going through a stack of $1 bills, when a $5 bill jumped out and landed on the counter. As soon as I saw it, I just had a lucky feeling hit me and I bought a Diamond Wild Time Progressive ticket," said 53-year-old Brian Bates.
Brian Bates, a Lansing resident, was counting up his tips from a night of bartending at the VFW, when he spotted the lucky $5 bill.
He used it to purchase his winning Diamond Wild Time Progressive Fast Cash ticket.
He said that his jaw dropped as soon as he looked at the ticket. He had won $79,709.
"I saw almost immediately that I won the jackpot," said Bates. "My wife was sitting there waiting for me to finish up, and I told her I'd won. She thought I was joking, so I scanned the ticket, then I scanned it again, and again. I think I scanned it about 15 times to be sure it was a winner."
He said he plans to use his winnings to take a vacation, spoil his grandchildren and then save the rest of it.
Fast Cash prizes never sell out and all games are played immediately, with no waiting for a drawing, according to a press release.