Woman receives first-ever lottery ticket as gift, wins $500K

• One Genesee County, Michigan woman, who has never played the lottery before, received a $5 Detroit Tigers scratch-off ticket as a gift
• The woman initially set the ticket aside to scratch it off and had a hard time realizing it brought her a life-changing $500,000 prize
• Claiming her lottery prize, the fortunate woman said she plans to pay off her car

An incredibly fortunate woman, who received her very first lottery ticket as a gift, was surprised by a life-changing prize.

That’s the story of one Genesee County woman, who scored a top prize from the Michigan Lottery’s Detroit Tigers instant ticket.

Lottery ticket received as gift brings $500,000

The lucky woman chose to remain anonymous, and her identity will likely forever remain a mystery.

Still, what’s known is that her winning ticket was purchased at Saginaw Fuel Mid LLC at 11842 South Saginaw Street in Grand Blanc.

The gifted ticket ultimately brought the lucky woman a life-changing $500,000 top prize.

Each Detroit Tigers scratch-off ticket costs $5 and grants players a chance to win a prize between $5 and $500,000.

Since the launch of the popular instant game, so far, players across Michigan have won $27m from the Detroit Tigers instant game.

The $500,000 prize won by the Genesee County woman marked the last top prize from the game.

Still, more than $4m in various prizes, between $2,000 and $5 are still up for grabs from the $5 scratch-off ticket.

A family member scratched off the ticket

In an interview for the Michigan Lottery, the winner revealed she received the Detroit Tigers scratch-off as a gift.

Interestingly, this was the very first ticket the woman had ever played or received, and she admitted that she set it aside since she was clueless how to play it.

"A few days later, a family member saw the ticket laying around, so I told him he could scratch it for me," the lucky woman said.

As the woman was cleaning after dinner, the family member asked her if that was a prank ticket, explaining that it showed a $500,000 prize.

The Genesee County woman thought this was a prank too and said she kept cleaning the kitchen.

Recalling the moment of the life-changing win, the woman said: "He walked over to me and handed me the ticket with shaky hands. When I saw the $500,000 win, I didn’t believe it was real until I took it to the store and had the clerk scan it. It still doesn’t feel like this is really happening!"

The fortunate player visited the Michigan Lottery headquarters to claim her newfound fortune.

Asked about her plans for the $500,000 win, the woman said that she will pay off her car and safe the rest of the winnings.

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