Michigan lottery winner thought her account had been 'hacked'

March 25 (UPI) -- A Michigan woman said she thought her Michigan Lottery account had been hacked when she logged on to find she had won a prize of $25,000 a year for life.

Escanaba resident Patricia Royer, 65, told Michigan Lottery officials she bought a ticket for the March 12 Lucky for Life drawing at MichiganLottery.com, selecting the numbers 03-13-24-36-44.

"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."

Royer said she was in for a surprise the day after the drawing.

"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," she said.

Royer chose to take her winnings as a one-time lump sum payment of $390,000. She said some of the money will go toward starting a scholarship in honor of a deceased loved one, and the rest will go into savings.