A Kalamazoo County man turned a $10 prize into a $500,000 prize playing the Michigan Lottery’s 5X Multiplier instant game.

The lucky 50-year-old player, who chose to remain anonymous, purchased his winning ticket at the Meijer gas station, located at 8994 Shaver Road in Portage.

“I play a lot of the instant games, but I have only played 5X Multiplier a few times since it came out,” said the player. “I had a $10 winning ticket, so I used my winnings to purchase two 5X Multiplier tickets. When I scratched off one of the tickets and saw I’d won $500,000, I didn’t think it was real. I scanned it on the Lottery app which confirmed my prize, but I still had a hard time believing it was real.

“When I got home, my wife thought something bad had happened because of how I was acting. When I told her I’d won $500,000, she didn’t believe me. As soon as the Lottery office verified the prize over the phone, she broke down crying. It has been such a crazy experience!”

The player visited Lottery headquarters recently to claim his prize. With his winnings, he plans to complete some home renovations and invest.

Players have won more than $10 million playing 5X Multiplier which launched in September. Each $5 ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from $5 up to $500,000. More than $20 million in prizes remain, including two $500,000 top prizes and 177 $500 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.