A Genesee County woman is looking forward to retirement after winning $500,000 playing the Michigan Lottery’s $500 Fever instant game.

The lucky player, who chose to remain anonymous, bought her winning ticket at the Marathon gas station, located at G7515 Clio Road in Mount Morris.

“I was in line at the gas station and heard the person ahead of me complain that they bought a few $500 Fever tickets and didn’t win anything,” said the 65-year-old player. “When I got to the counter, I asked the clerk to give me the next ticket on the roll.

“I scratched the barcode, scanned it, and got a ‘cannot process’ message. I scratched the rest of the ticket, thinking maybe I won a little bit of money, so I couldn’t believe it when I saw I’d won $500,000. I knew what I was seeing but I didn’t want to get too excited until I called the Lottery and confirmed.”

The lucky player visited Lottery headquarters to claim her prize. With her winnings, she plans to retire and invest.

Players have won more than $27 million playing $500 Fever, which launched in August 2020. Each $5 ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from $5 up to $500,000. More than $3 million in prizes remain, including 1,346 $500 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.