82-year-old Oakland Co. woman buys huge Fantasy 5 winner in Pontiac

An Oakland County woman claimed a $131,121 Fantasy 5 jackpot prize from the Michigan Lottery less than three weeks before the prize was set to expire.

The 82-year-old player, who chose to remain anonymous, matched the Fantasy 5 numbers in the Dec. 3, 2024, drawing to win the big prize: 07-10-21-22-26. She bought her winning ticket at Pike Food Center, located at 465 East Pike Street in Pontiac.

‘A pleasant surprise!’

“I occasionally play Fantasy 5 because a friend once told me, ‘You can’t win if you don’t play,’” said the player. “After the drawing, I scanned the ticket at the store and got a message to see the clerk. I went home and checked the winning numbers and that’s when I realized I’d won the jackpot. It was a pleasant surprise!”

The lucky player recently visited Lottery headquarters to claim her jackpot. She plans to share her winnings with her family.

“Once I found out I won, I planned to hold onto the ticket for little a while before claiming, and then life got crazy, so I ended up holding onto it for longer than I planned,” said the player. “It’s a relief to finally be cashing it in!”