An Otsego County woman couldn’t figure out why her Double Bonus Cashword instant game ticket wasn’t eligible for a second chance game, until she realized she had a $300,000 winner.

The 64-year-old player bought her winning ticket at the Marathon gas station, located at 1482 West M-32 in Gaylord.

“I buy the Cashword games because I like playing the second chance game,” said the player, who chose to remain anonymous. “I sat down to enter some of the tickets from my pile, and this one just wouldn’t go in.

“I tried to put it in three times and just knew I must be missing something. I gave the ticket another look, and realized I forgot to scratch the puzzle at the bottom of the ticket. I started scratching that puzzle and that’s when I saw I had a bunch of words.

“That evening, my friend and I were on our way to a work Christmas party, and we stopped at the Marathon so I could scan the ticket to see what I’d won. As soon as the clerk told me it was a $300,000 winner, I started screaming: ‘Oh my God!’ I got so shaky, I thought I might be having a heart attack.”

The player visited Lottery headquarters on Wednesday to claim the big prize. With her winnings, she plans to pay some bills, cut back to part-time hours at her job, and then save the remainder.

“I’ve been on cloud nine since I won! I have been trying to cut my hours back at work so I can spend more time with family and this will help me do that and live more comfortably,” the player said.

Players have won more than $37 million playing Double Bonus Cashword, which launched in August 2017. Each $5 ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from $5 up to $300,000. More than $14 million in prizes remain, including one $300,000 top prizes, five $10,000 prizes, and 32 $2,000 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.