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Lottery player thinks she is ‘having a heart attack’ after hitting Michigan jackpot

A 63-year-old lottery player thought she was “having a heart attack” when she saw she hit the jackpot in Michigan.
A 63-year-old lottery player thought she was “having a heart attack” when she saw she hit the jackpot in Michigan. Photo by Michigan Lottery Connect

A Michigan woman was so shocked after checking her lottery ticket that she felt like she was “having a heart attack.”

The 63-year-old’s stroke of luck came Dec. 30, when she bought a Lucky7s Fast Cash ticket in Saginaw and realized she had hit the jackpot.

Her prize of $855,779 left her with an “unbelievable feeling,” she told Michigan Lottery officials in a Jan. 24 news release.

“I looked over the ticket right after purchasing it and thought I was having a heart attack when I saw I won the jackpot,” she told officials. “I had my family look over the ticket to confirm what I was seeing, and then scanned it to check it too.”

With her hundreds of thousands in winnings, she plans to take a few vacations before putting the rest away for her retirement, lottery officials said.

Saginaw is about a 100-mile drive northwest from Detroit.

Many people can gamble or play games of chance without harm. However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.

If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.

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This story was originally published January 24, 2025 at 5:09 PM with the headline "Lottery player thinks she is ‘having a heart attack’ after hitting Michigan jackpot."

Kate Linderman
mcclatchy-newsroom
Kate Linderman covers national news for McClatchy’s real-time team. She reports on politics and crime and courts news in the Midwest. Kate is a 2023 graduate of DePaul University and is based in Chicago.
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