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

Patricia Royer, of Escanaba, won the 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.

“My husband and I started playing Lucky for Life about a year ago, and we have loved playing it ever since,” said Royer. “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, 65, visited 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.

For $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. seven days-a-week. Tickets may be purchased at lottery retailers across the state and online at MichiganLottery.com.