A Kent County man waited nearly a year to claim his $250,314 Club Keno The Jack prize from the Michigan Lottery.

The 61-year-old player, who chose to remain anonymous, matched his easy pick The Jack numbers – 07-10-36-37-56-60-64-79 – to eight of the 20 Club Keno numbers drawn in draw 2198790. He bought his winning ticket at Vitale’s Sports Lounge, located at 3868 West River Drive in Comstock Park.

“I always play Club Keno whenever I’m at Vitale’s,” said the player. “I saw that I won, but I didn’t believe it, so I went home and put my ticket information in on Michiganmilotteryconnect.casinowinning.net. When the website confirmed my $250,314 prize, it was shocking and felt unreal!

“I held onto the ticket for so long for tax purposes, so it’s a relief to finally cash it! I was so nervous something was going to happen to the ticket, even though it was locked up in a safe spot. I’ve had the ticket for nearly a year and it still hasn’t hit me that this is real!”

The lucky player recently visited Lottery headquarters to claim his big prize. With his winnings, he plans to take a trip to Las Vegas and then invest the remainder.

The $250,314 Club Keno The Jack prize was claimed with a few weeks to spare, however, there are only a few days left for someone to claim a $1 million Mega Millions prize. The prize will expire Friday, March 15.

The winning Mega Millions ticket from the March 17, 2023, drawing was sold at the CVS Pharmacy, located at 18130 West 10 Mile Road in Southfield. The winner should the Lottery’s Player Relations division at 844-917-6325 to schedule an appointment to collect the big prize.

If the prize isn’t claimed before the ticket expires, the money will go to the state School Aid Fund.