A Kalamazoo County woman’s favorite game paid off in a big way when she won $300,000 playing the Michigan Lottery’s Cashword Times 5 instant game.

The lucky 75-year-old player, who close to remain anonymous, purchased her winning ticket at the BP gas station, located at 10230 East Michigan Avenue in Galesburg. Galesburg is about 10 miles east of Kalamazoo.

“Cashword is my favorite game, and I play it a lot,” said the player. “I was scratching my ticket and saw I had revealed five red words. I looked at the prize legend and saw five red words was not listed, so I looked the ticket over again. When I found another red word and saw the prize of $300,000, I thought: ‘This can’t be right!’

“I took the ticket back to the gas station and had them scan it. When I got a slip back saying to file a claim, I called the Lottery to confirm my prize. I am still having a hard time believing this is real!”

The player visited Lottery headquarters recently to claim her prize. With her winnings, she plans to purchase a new car and help her family.

“Winning is such a relief. It is going to allow me to do all the things I have been wanting to do,” the player said.

Players have won more than $8 million playing Cashword Times 5 which launched in April. Each $5 ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from $5 up to $300,000. More than $27 million in prizes remain, including two $300,000 top prizes, eight $10,000 prizes, and 53 $2,000 prizes.

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

In 2021, Lottery players won more than $1.8 billion playing instant games.