A Montmorency County woman had her Fantasy 5 ticket for days before finding out it was the winner of a $327,985 Fantasy 5 jackpot from the Michigan Lottery.

The lucky 64-year-old player, who chose to remain anonymous, matched the Fantasy 5 numbers in the March 13 drawing to win the big prize: 19-21-31-32-35. She bought her winning ticket at the Family Fare, located at 5105 County Road 612 in Lewiston. Lewiston is about 25 miles southeast of Gaylord.

“I play Fantasy 5 every day,” said the player. “I usually check the winning numbers every morning, but for this drawing I completely forgot to check my ticket. When I was at the store a few days later, I saw the Fantasy 5 jackpot had reset, and I was bummed since it was starting to get big. That’s when I remembered I hadn’t checked my ticket, so I went to scan it on the Lottery machine.

“As soon as the message came up saying to file a claim at the Lottery office, I knew I was the big winner! I called my friend right away to tell her the good news.”

The player visited Lottery headquarters recently to claim the big prize. With her winnings, she plans to invest.

“Winning the Lottery is still sinking in, but now that I am here claiming my prize, it’s starting to feel a lot more real,” the player said.

Each Fantasy 5 play is only $1. For an additional $1 per play, EZmatch may be added to a Fantasy 5 ticket, giving players a chance to win up to $500 instantly. For an additional $1 per play, Double Play may be added to a Fantasy 5 ticket, giving players a second chance to win up to $110,000 in the nightly Double Play drawing. Fantasy 5 players select five numbers from one to 39. Players who match all five Fantasy 5 numbers drawn win a jackpot that starts at $100,000. Fantasy 5 drawings are held seven days a week at 7:29 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at a retailer or online at MichiganLottery.com until 7:08 p.m. on the day of the drawing.