Winning a large lottery prize can feel like having all your birthdays and Christmases at once. For Emily Hickox from Indiana, that feeling became reality. She won $500,000 in the Michigan Lottery on Christmas Day, which also happens to be her birthday.
Emily’s big win came from the Detroit Lions Instant Win ticket, but it almost didn’t happen. Her cousin bought the ticket as a gift for a white elephant exchange at their family Christmas party. Emily’s dad won the ticket during the gift swap, and Emily ended up with a flashlight. Later, her dad wanted the flashlight back, so they agreed to trade gifts.
When Emily scratched off the ticket, she first thought she had won $50,000. She used the Michigan Lottery app to scan the ticket and saw an extra zero, realizing she had actually won $500,000. She said, “I was speechless! I couldn’t believe it.”
The winning ticket was purchased at a Meijer store on 10 Mile Road in Rockford, Michigan.
Michigan Lottery Commissioner Suzanna Shkreli commented on the win, saying, “We love hearing the fun and exciting ways our players discover they’ve won big prizes. Winning $500,000 is thrilling, and to do it on Christmas and your birthday with a gift ticket is even more amazing.”
The Detroit Lions instant ticket costs $5 and offers odds of 1 in 3.95. Prizes range from $5 to the top prize of $500,000. Since its launch in September, players have won over $21 million.
Elsewhere, a player in Connecticut recently won twice at the same store—$200,000 on a Cash Royale ticket and $750,000 on a Jumbo Cash ticket. Meanwhile, a $50,000 Powerball prize from March last year remains unclaimed in Baxter, Minnesota. The deadline to claim that prize is approaching soon.Players are urged to check their old tickets before they expire.
