Lucky senior in Michigan wins $500K from instant game

An incredibly fortunate lottery player from Oakland County, Michigan, recently scored a six-figure win.

The winner: "I can do whatever I want"

On Thursday, the Michigan Lottery confirmed that a 72-year-old woman, who chose to remain anonymous, scored one of the top prizes from its popular instant game, The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.

The lucky lady purchased her ticket at AMS Enterprise Inc. at 1715 North Pontiac Trail in Walled Lake.

The woman, whose identity will likely forever remain a mystery, was pleasantly surprised by a staggering $500,000 win.

This week, the lucky Oakland County woman visited the Lottery headquarters to claim the top prize from the popular instant game.

When she was asked if she had any plans regarding the win, the woman said that she would help her loved ones and save what was left of the hefty prize.

"Winning is an awesome feeling because now I can do whatever I want," the 72-year-old woman said.

As it turns out, the woman liked holiday lottery games. She admitted to purchasing holiday-themed games every year once they come out.

Asked about the day of the big win, the Oakland County woman said that after scratching The Most Wonderful Time of the Year ticket, she thought that she won only $5.

However, the lucky winner added: "After looking the ticket over a second time, I realized I'd actually won $500,000 and yelled: 'Oh my gosh! I can't believe this!' You never think you're going to win the big one and then one day, when you least expect it, it happens!"

The holiday-themed instant game offers one more top prize

The Michigan Lottery's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year instant game offers a range of prizes.

The cost of each ticket is $10, and it offers a chance to win prizes between $10 and $500,000.

After the instant game was launched there were two top prizes of $500,000 each, but now, only one top prize remains in play.

A tier-two prize awards $2,000 and out of 15 in total, 10 such prizes remain up for grabs.

On the other hand, players can also win a tier-three prize of $500 and there are 250 such prizes in play.

The overall odds of winning any prize from the Lottery's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year are 1 in 3.52.

Image credit: Pixabay.com