An Oakland County woman said winning a $500,000 prize playing the Michigan Lottery’s Ghostbusters instant game is “the start of a new beginning” for her and her family.

The lucky 41-year-old player, who chose to remain anonymous, bought her winning ticket at Special Way Food Store, located at 378 West Huron Street in Pontiac.

“I don’t play instant tickets often, but I saw the Ghostbusters ticket while I was at the store and thought: ‘Why not?’” said the player. “When I scratched the ticket and saw I’d won $500,000, I read the directions over and over again and looked the ticket over for at least an hour.

“I knew what I was seeing, but I had a hard time believing it, so I drove to my local Lottery office to have them check it. The Lottery employee scanned the ticket and said: ‘You need to take this one to Lansing!’ It was such an amazing feeling.”

The player recently visited Lottery headquarters to claim her prize. With her winnings, she plans to help her family, pay bills, and then save the remainder.

“Winning this prize is the start of a new beginning for me and my family,” the player said.

Players have won more than $4 million playing Ghostbusters which launched in September. Each $5 ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from $5 up to $500,000. More than $26 million in prizes remain, including two $500,000 prizes, five $10,000 prizes, and 26 $2,500 prizes.

In 2022, Lottery players won more than $1.7 billion playing instant games.

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