A Lapeer County woman nearly took a tumble after winning a $40,000 prize playing the Tax Free instant game online from the Michigan Lottery.

“I was playing the Tax Free game on my iPad in bed before calling it a night,” said the winner, who chose to remain anonymous. “I was pretty tired, but when I saw a box pop up on the screen saying I’d won I nearly fell down trying to get out of bed.

“Once I had my balance I ran downstairs and woke my husband up to have him confirm what I was seeing. I don’t think we even slept for three hours that night.”

The 52-year-old player visited Lottery headquarters recently to claim her prize. With her winnings, she plans to pay bills and complete some home renovations.

“Winning couldn’t have come at a better time. The peace of mind this gives us is priceless,” she said.

Michigan Lottery players have a chance to win up to $500,000 instantly playing online. Players also may win prizes ranging from $1 up to multimillion dollar jackpots playing Powerball, Mega Millions, Lotto 47, and Fantasy 5 online. Through its online platform, the Lottery offers players more than 50 different games with plays ranging in price from 5 cents to $20.

More than 1 million players have registered to play the Lottery’s online games, which were launched in 2014. For more information or to play online, visit http://bit.ly/MSLOnlineGames.

In 2018, Lottery players won more than $676 million playing games online.