Winning Lottery ticket nets Michigan woman $1 million: 'this can't be real!'

(WWJ) - A woman from St. Clair County is $1 million richer after winning the top prize on an instant Lottery ticket.

The winner is a 76-year-old who has chosen to remain anonymous, officials said. She purchased her ticket at the Richmond Kroger, located at 66900 Gratiot Avenue.

The woman said when she buys lottery tickets, she purchases $20 worth, according to the Michigan Lottery website .

She scratched the two $1,000,000 Deluxe Cash tickets in her car. The woman said she couldn’t believe it was real when she saw she had won.

“‘I took the ticket back into the store and scanned it,’” she said in an article from the Michigan Lottery. “‘When I got a message to file a claim at the Lottery office, I knew it was real! I have looked at the ticket every day since I won to make sure I’m not just seeing things.’”

By choosing to get the money in a lump sum, the winner will receive $693,000, which was claimed at the Lottery headquarters.

The woman said she would use the money to pay some bills and save the rest. “‘This prize is going to provide a nice financial cushion for me and my husband,’” she told the Michigan Lottery.

People who bought the $1,000,000 Deluxe Cash ticket, which costs $10, have won more than $9 million since April, according to the Michigan Lottery.

Winning tickets are still up for grabs. “More than $42 million in prizes remain, including two $1 million top prizes and 44 $2,500 prizes,” the Michigan Lottery said.