Lottery player who used same numbers for 20 years wins big. ‘Don’t believe it’s real’

A woman won a huge lottery prize using the same numbers she has played for decades.

The woman from Wayne County, Michigan, who chose to remain anonymous, told Michigan Lottery officials she plays Lotto 47 every week. The game costs $1 to play, with the jackpot starting at $1 million and growing until someone matches all six numbers.

She has played the same six numbers — 02, 05, 08, 10, 17 and 29 — “for more than 20 years,” she said in a Dec. 4 news release. Finally, her “special set of lottery numbers” matched those that were drawn Oct. 28.

“When I saw I matched all the numbers, all I could do was stand there in shock,” she said.

She won the $1 million prize in the game and accepted the one-time lump sum payment of $693,000. She said she plans on paying bills and sharing with her family.

“I’ve been waiting until I got the check to tell my family and friends, because I still don’t believe it’s real,” she said. “It’s been two weeks and I still can’t wrap my head around it!”

Odds of hitting the jackpot in Lotto 47 are 1-in-10,737,573. The estimated jackpot ahead of the Wednesday, Dec. 6, drawing is $1.65 million.

This story was originally published December 4, 2023 at 3:29 PM with the headline "Lottery player who used same numbers for 20 years wins big. ‘Don’t believe it’s real’."