PATRICIA ROYER, 65, of Escanaba, poses with husband Gary Royer with a giant check from the Michigan Lottery after winning $25,000 a year for life from the Lucky For Life game. (Michigan Lottery photo)

LANSING, Mich. — An Escanaba woman said she thought someone hacked her lottery account when she logged in and saw she won $25,000 a year for life playing Lucky For Life.

Patricia Royer won the big prize when her Lucky For Life ticket matched the five white balls drawn on March 12: 03-13-24-36-44. She bought her winning ticket online at MichiganLottery.com, according to a Michigan Lottery news release.

“My husband and I started playing Lucky for Life about a year ago, and we have loved playing it ever since,” Royer said. “I won $200 a few months ago, so I have been using that to buy more tickets.

“The morning after the drawing, I was having a cup of coffee and logged in to see if I won anything. When I saw I won $25,000 a year for life, I said: ‘This can’t be real!’ I thought someone hacked my account, so I logged out and logged back in. When the prize was still in my balance, I called my son, and he told me it had to be real. I still can’t fathom winning! It is unbelievable,” Royer said.

Royer, 65, recently came to Lottery headquarters recently to claim her prize. She chose to receive her winnings as a one-time lump sum payment of $390,000, rather than annuity payments of $25,000 a year for 20 years or life, whichever is greater. With her winnings, she plans to

start a scholarship on behalf of a loved one who recently passed away, and then save the remainder, according to the release.

For just $2 per play, Lucky For Life gives Lottery players a chance to win prizes ranging from $3 to a lifetime of cash. To win the game’s top prize of $1,000 a day for life, players must match all five winning numbers ranging from 1 to 48, plus one Lucky Ball ranging from 1 to 18. Players who match all five winning numbers, but not the Lucky Ball, will win $25,000 a year for life. Drawings take place at 10:38 p.m. Eastern time seven days a week. Tickets may be purchased at Lottery retailers across the state and online at MichiganLottery.com.

About 97 cents of every dollar spent on Lottery tickets is returned to the state in the form of contributions to the state School Aid Fund, prizes to players, and commissions to vendors and retailers, according to Michigan Lottery. In the 2023 fiscal year, the Lottery provided more than $1.3 billion for Michigan’s public schools, its fifth contribution of more than $1 billion.

Since it began in 1972, the Lottery has contributed more than $28 billion to support public education in Michigan.

For additional information, follow the Michigan Lottery on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and online at www.michiganlottery.com.