The first player in Missouri to win $25,000 a year for life in the new Missouri Lottery Draw Game claimed her prize on March 23.Eleanor Mirgaux of Truxton said she buys tickets for most of the Draw Games on Sundays after church. She added Lucky for Life to her stable in the last month, and it’s already paying off.Mirgaux won the second prize in the game in the drawing on March 16, earning her a prize that will pay $25,000 for the rest of her life. She chose the lump-sum of $390,000.“I’m 72-years-old,” she said, in explanation of her choice.Mirgaux said she didn’t know she was a winner, until she returned to Mini Market, 16 S. Highway 47 in Hawk Point, to buy her tickets the following Sunday.“This last Sunday, I had already bought my tickets when she told me I was winner,” she recalled. “She checked it two or three times. I was shocked.“Probably put it in the bank!” she said of the winnings. “I’ve got everything I want. As long as I’ve got my health and the good Lord watching over me, that’s all I need.”Mirgaux won with a Quick Pick ticket. The winning numbers for March 16 were: 1, 18, 22, 37 and 40. If she had matched the Lucky Ball number of 13, it would have resulted in a prize of $1,000 a day for life.Lucky for Life is a twice-weekly Draw Game, with drawings on Mondays and Thursdays. The two top prizes in the game offer an annuity that will pay out for as long as the winner lives, guaranteed for 20 years.

John and Eleanor Mirgaux, of Truxton, pose together after winning Missouri Lottery's Lucky for Life game. Eleanor purchased the winning ticket, which earns her $25,000 for life. The winning ticket was purchased at Mini Market in Hawk Point. Submitted photo.