Little did a Tuscola County woman know, her joke about winning $1 million was about to become a reality when she won a $1 million prize playing the Michigan Lottery’s Ruby Mine instant game.

The lucky player, who chose to remain anonymous, bought her winning ticket at the Clark gas station, located at 2897 Main Street in Marlette. Marlette is about 50 miles east of Saginaw.

“My friends and I were going on a weekend getaway and stopped to get gas on the way,” said the player. “There was one Ruby Mine ticket left in the roll, so I decided to purchase it.

“When I got back to the car, I joked: ‘Alright, if I win $1 million, we are going to do something fun today!’ When I scratched the ticket and told my friends I’d really won $1 million, they thought I was kidding. I scanned it on the Lottery app to be sure and could not believe it when the app confirmed I won $1 million!”

The 43-year-old player visited Lottery headquarters recently to claim her prize. She chose to receive her prize as 30 annuity payments of about $33,000 each.

With her winnings, she plans to pay bills and then save the remainder.

Players have won more than $56 million playing Ruby Mine which launched in August 2020. Each $10 ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from $10 up to $1 million. More than $39 million in prizes remain, including two $1 million prizes, 17 $20,000 prizes and 89 $2,000 prizes.

Lottery instant games may be purchased at 10,500 retailers across the state.

In 2020, Lottery players won more than $1.5 billion playing instant games.