Wayne County woman unknowingly had million-dollar lottery ticket for six weeks

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(FOX 2) - Eileen Wickett didn't know it at the time, but she was a million dollars richer after the Powerball drawing in February.

She had matched five correct white balls during a Feb. 6 drawing.

And Wickett had been told she had won the lottery in an email - but the value amount wasn't listed so she didn't think it was worth that much money.

"I always play the same sets of numbers and I use the subscription feature so that I don’t miss a drawing," she said. "I saw an email from the Lottery informing me I’d won a prize, but it didn’t say how much I’d won so I assumed it was a few dollars.

And since she uses a subscription to automatically purchase her tickets, she hadn't logged into her account for a while. Then, after six weeks, she saw a prize was pending for a million dollars.

"It was such an awesome feeling!" she told Michigan Lottery Connect. "I called my kids right away to tell them the good news."

Wickett, 60, is a resident of Wayne County. She told the lottery that she plans to spend her winnings on home improvements, a vacation, and to share it with her family.

The last time the Powerball jackpot was won was during the same drawing as Wickett's winning. The previous payout was $754.6 million. Currently, the jackpot stands at $186 million.

Powerball drawings take place every night at 10:59 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. They can be watched at their website powerball.com.