Woman forgets about Michigan lotto ticket for days, then realizes she’s ‘big winner’

A woman took home a big sum after she “completely forgot” to check her lottery ticket, Michigan officials said.

The 64-year-old winner bought a ticket for the Fantasy 5 jackpot at Family Fare in Lewiston and forgot to check its status for a few days, according to a March 27 news release from the Michigan Lottery.

The woman had no idea she had won $327,985, according to the release.

The Montmorency County woman plays Fantasy 5 every day and normally checks her ticket every morning but forgot, according to lottery officials.

“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,” the winner, who chose to remain anonymous, told officials. “That’s when I remembered I hadn’t checked my ticket, so I went to scan it on the Lottery machine.”

When a message popped up on the screen “saying to file a claim at the Lottery office,” the woman knew she “was the big winner,” according to the release.

The woman claimed her prize and plans to invest the winnings, officials said.

“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 woman told lottery officials.

Lewiston is about 215 miles north of Detroit.