An Ingham County woman got the surprise of a lifetime when she logged on to her Michigan Lottery account to do her Daily Spin to Win and found out she’d won $100,000 a year for life playing the Michigan Lottery’s Millionaire For Life game!  

The lucky 71-year-old player, who chose to remain anonymous, matched the five white balls – 01-16-26-40-44 – in the Aug. 20 drawing to win the big prize. The winning ticket was bought online at MichiganLottery.com.

“I’ve been playing Millionaire For Life since the game started earlier this year,” said the player. “Every morning when I wake up, I log in to my Michigan Lottery account to do my Daily Spin to Win. The morning after the drawing, a pop-up came up when I logged in notifying me of 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! It was unbelievable.”

The player recently visited Lottery headquarters to claim the big prize. She chose to receive her prize as annual payments of $100,000 a year for 20 years or life, whichever is greater, rather than a one-time lump sum payment of $2.2 million. With her winnings, she plans to complete home renovations and then save the remainder.

This prize marks the second time a Michigan Lottery player has won the second-tier prize of $100,000 a year for life since the Millionaire For Life game launched on Feb. 22. The first prize was won on May 21 with a ticket purchased at Mancelona North EZ Mart, located at 8150 US Highway 131 Northeast in Mancelona. That prize was claimed by a Charlevoix County woman.

For just $5 per play, Millionaire For Life gives players the chance to win prizes ranging from $8 up to a lifetime of cash. To win the game’s top prize of $1 million a year for life, players must match all five white ball numbers ranging from 1 to 58 and the Millionaire Ball number ranging from 1 to 5. Players who match all five white ball numbers, but not the Millionaire Ball, will win $100,000 a year for life. Drawings take place daily at 11:15 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at Lottery retailers across the state and online at MichiganLottery.com.