A Wexford County woman is California dreaming after winning $500,000 playing the Michigan Lottery’s 20X The Cash instant game.

“I stopped at Wesco and bought a ticket from the self-serve machine,” said the lucky player, who chose to remain anonymous. “I got out to my car and scratched the ticket off. I saw I’d won $500,000 and it floored me! My sister was with me, so I tossed her the ticket and asked her to look it over.

“While she read it, I drove to another retailer so I could have it scanned and confirm it was a big winner. Once they’d confirmed I’d won, I headed home and started packing my bags for a trip to California.”

The player bought the winning ticket at the Wesco gas station, located at 1548 North Mitchell Street in Cadillac.

“Winning still just doesn’t feel real,” said the 50-year-old player. “Winning this gives my husband and I financial peace, and helps us know that we’ll be OK when we decide to retire.”

In addition to taking a trip to California and saving for retirement, the player also plans to pay bills, and share with her children.

Players have won more than $8 million playing 20X The Cash, which launched in January. Each $5 ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from $5 up to $500,000. More than $22 million in prizes remain, including two $500,000 top-prizes, five $10,000 prizes, and 367 $1,000 prizes.

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

In 2018, Lottery players won more than $1 billion playing instant games.