A Big Rapids woman had to log out and log back in to her Michigan Lottery account before she believed she won a $100,000 Powerball prize.

Polly Byers, 61, matched four white balls and the Powerball – 02-09-43-55-57, PB: 18 – in the July 15 drawing to win a $50,000 prize. Thanks to the Power Play, the prize was multiplied to $100,000. She bought her winning ticket online at MichiganLottery.com.

“I was on a weekend trip with some girlfriends and woke up early in the morning,” said Byers. “No one else was up, so I stayed in bed and checked my email and had an email from the Lottery saying I had won a prize. 

“Normally, the email says how much I won but this one didn’t have an amount. That’s when I logged in to my account and saw that I had won $100,000! I thought I might still be sleeping or dreaming, so I logged out of my account and logged back in, and the prize was still there! I must have checked my account 50 times throughout the day just to make sure I really won.”

Byers recently visited Lottery headquarters to claim her big prize. With her winnings, she plans to share with family, and save the remainder.

“My husband and I recently retired, so winning this means the world to us and gives us some financial security,” Byers said. 

Powerball plays may be purchased for $2 each at Lottery retailers across the state and online at MichiganLottery.com. A “Power Play” option that multiplies non-jackpot prizes by up to 10 times to a maximum of $2 million may be added to any Powerball play for only $1. For an additional $1 per play, Double Play may be added to a Powerball ticket, giving players a second chance to win up to $10 million in the nightly Double Play drawing.

The Powerball drawing takes place at 10:59 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday and may be watched live online at: http://www.powerball.com. Powerball tickets are sold in 45 states, Washington D.C., U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.