Canton Woman Used 'Special Dates' To Win $25,000 For Life Prize

CANTON, MI — A Canton woman won a big prize after winning the "Lucky for Life" prize worth $25,000 a year for life from the Michigan Lottery, state officials announced.

Brenda Walker, 77, of Canton, bought the winning ticket that matched the five white balls drawn Nov. 27 – 02-06-07-11-19 from the Canton Mini Mart, located at 42421 Cherry Hill Road in Canton.

"I’ve played a special set of numbers made up of birth dates and other special dates for years," Walker said. "Every night after the drawing I call the winning numbers hotline and check my ticket. When the numbers were read off, I recognized them right away and had to press the repeat option a few times to make sure I was hearing right."

Walker claimed her prize at the Lottery headquarters, and chose to receive her winnings as a one-time, lump sum payment of $390,000, rather than annuity payments of $25,000 for 20 years or life.

With her winnings, Walker plans to purchase a new car.