Another lottery winner at Party World

COMSTOCK PARK, Mich. (WOOD) - It has happened again.

Another person has purchased a winning lottery ticket from Party World in Comstock Park. A $100,000 lottery ticket from the state's Millionaire Raffle (odds of 1 in 50,000) was sold there over the weekend.

This is the fifth winning ticket to come from the store located at 5568 Alpine Ave NW since January 2008. The other four tickets were two $1 million raffle tickets (odds of 1 in 100,000 for each), a $300,000 scratch-off ticket (odds of 1 in 905,000), and a $57 million Mega Million jackpot ticket (odds of 1 in 175 million).

So what is the source of the run of luck?

The superstitions abound at Party World, from a famous four-leaf clover found on the property -- now on the store's lottery machine used to touch tickets for luck -- to a cow bell that is rung when every new winning ticket is sold.

"We rub the ticket on the four-leaf clover every time they ask us. One lady was walking off with it one time and I had to go and get it from her," said employee Brenda Vega, who sold the latest winning ticket.

"They keep saying how long will it last, and next thing you know we have another one," store manager Dave Castor told 24 Hour News 8. "I think with the volume we're doing we're more apt to have more winners."

Party World's first millionaire still comes back to the store to chat it up and, you guessed it, buy more lottery tickets.

24 Hour News 8 was leaving the store on Monday and ran into a man who just won a hundred bucks.

"It's a gold mine for 'em. It's the only place I buy my lottery tickets," said Joe Wilson.

Party World is attracting so many people from across the state that the staff had to make T-shirts -- "Party World: Luckiest store in Michigan" -- to send home with them.

"I think it's the clover. I really do think it's the clover," said Castor.

The manager said when they got rid of the old lottery machines people thought the luck here would run out. But they actually kept a piece of that old machine and the luck continues at Party World.

Party World was not the only store selling winning Millionaire Raffle tickets during the latest drawing.

Bill's Market at 479 Marshall Street in Coldwater, Admiral Discount Tobacco at 198 W. River Valley in Newaygo, and Fat Tony's Sports Bar at 5222 Portage Road in Portage were the other businesses.

Lottery officials say, overall, lottery sales are down slightly. However, the Club Keno games have seen a big increase, with sales jumping by $34 million in 2008.

On the Net:

Michigan Millionaire Raffle winning stores