71-Year-Old Michigan Woman Wins $100,000 a Year for Life in Lottery

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A 71-year-old woman from Ingham County is celebrating a huge Michigan Lottery win that could pay her $100,000 every year for the rest of her life.

The lucky player hit all five white-ball numbers — 01, 16, 26, 40 and 44 — in the August 20 drawing of the Michigan Lottery’s Millionaire For Life game. Her ticket earned the game’s second-tier prize.

The winning news came as a surprise. The woman said she logged into her lottery account the morning after the drawing and saw a notification about a prize.

“I thought it said I won $2,000, and I was excited about that. Then I realized I had actually won over $2 million!”

She later went to Michigan Lottery headquarters to claim her prize. Instead of taking the $2.2 million lump sum, she chose payments of $100,000 per year for 20 years or for life, whichever is longer.

Her Plans for the Money

The winner said she intends to:

  • Finish renovations around her home
  • Save the rest of her winnings

According to the Michigan Lottery, this marks the second $100,000-a-year-for-life second-tier prize won by a Michigan player since Millionaire For Life launched in February.