Lottery player was ready to cash out, then wins life-changing prize in Michigan
A Michigan woman decided to press her luck and turned a $500 win into a jackpot prize, according to the Michigan Lottery.
The woman, 54, told lottery officials started playing after she got a promotional email for the Michigan Jackpot.
“Within my first five plays, I won $500!” she said. “I told myself I would cash out if I got down to $300, and just before I did, I hit the jackpot!
She won $495,002, nearly 1,000 times her original prize. She beat odds of 1-in-5,245,786 to snag the game’s progressive jackpot.
“My husband wasn’t home, so I called him screaming to tell him that I had just won, and he asked: ‘Are you sure you have the comma in the right place?’”
She did. The winner, who chose to remain anonymous, said she plans to pay off her mortgage, buy a car, and take a “dream vacation” with the prize money.
Michigan Jackpot is an online instant draw game where players match numbers to win a progressive jackpot. Players can purchase up to four $1 tickets per drawing.
This story was originally published March 19, 2025 at 2:00 PM with the headline "Lottery player was ready to cash out, then wins life-changing prize in Michigan."
