A Van Buren County man couldn’t catch his breath after winning $500,000 playing the Michigan Lottery’s Power 777 instant game.

James Watson, 65, bought his winning ticket at the BP gas station, located at 122 Phoenix Street in South Haven.

“I buy tickets $20 at a time and scratch them in the evening when I am relaxing,” said Watson. “I had a football game on and decided to scratch my tickets off. I wasn’t wearing my glasses, and I had what looked like a $5,000 winner. I was so excited; I called a buddy to tell him and he asked me to bring the ticket over so he could see it.

“The next morning, I left for my buddy’s place, and stopped at the BP to show them the ticket. The clerk scanned it and said: ‘James, you’ll have to go to Lansing for this one. It’s a $500,000 winner!’

“When she said that, I couldn’t catch my breath and almost fell backwards in the store!”

Watson recently visited Lottery headquarters to claim his prize. With his winnings, he plans to buy some property, a new vehicle, and then save the remainder.

Players have won more than $26 million playing Power 777 which launched in September 2020. Each $5 ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from $5 up to $500,000. More than $4 million in prizes remain, including two $500,000 top prizes, two $7,777 prizes, and five $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.