A Macomb County woman nearly threw away the best birthday gift ever:  a $2 million winning instant game ticket from the Michigan Lottery.

The woman didn’t think she’d won anything with the Multiplier Spectacular ticket and was going to toss it in the trash.  Luckily, her husband grabbed it and discovered they had a big winner when he checked it at a local retailer.

“We don’t consider ourselves to be lucky, so this was a nice surprise,” said the husband, who claimed the prize and chose to remain anonymous.

The man said he likes to give his wife Lottery tickets for her birthday and purchased the big winner at Kassa’s Market, located at 36650 Jefferson Ave. in Harrison Township.

The couple visited Lottery headquarters Tuesday to claim the big prize. They chose to receive the prize as a one-time lump sum of about $1.3 million, rather than an annuity with 30 annual payments of nearly $67,000 for the full amount.

The couple said providing college tuition for their children was their top priority for using their windfall.

Players have won more than $64 million playing Multiplier Spectacular, which launched in April 2017. Each $20 ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from $20 up to $2 million. More than $34 million in prizes remain, including a $2 million top prize, 22 $5,000 prizes, and 160 $1,000 prizes.

Lottery instant games may be purchased at 11,000 retailers across the state.

In 2017, Lottery players won more than $960 million playing instant games.