Watching an episode of My Lottery Dream Home inspired an Ottawa County man to play instant games, leading him to a $500,000 prize playing the Michigan Lottery’s Holiday Wishes instant game.

The lucky 73-year-old player, who chose to remain anonymous, bought the winning ticket at the Marathon gas station, located at 17035 Lloyds Bayou in Spring Lake.

“My wife and I have played draw games since the Lottery began,” said the player. “We were watching the show, My Lottery Dream Home, and the winners on that episode won playing instant games, so we decided to start playing those. This Holiday Wishes ticket was the third scratch off ticket we’d ever bought, and when we purchased it, the cashier joked: ‘Remember me when you win big!’

“We both have bad eyesight, so when my wife scratched it off, she thought we won $5. I looked it over and thought we won $500. My wife looked it over again, and that’s when she noticed it was really a $500,000 winner! We called our son, and the first thing he said was: ‘This is a huge life-changing event!’ Winning truly is going to be life-changing for us.”

The lucky player visited Lottery headquarters recently to claim his big prize. With his winnings, he plans to pay bills, donate to charity, and take a trip to Paris.

Players have won more than $18 million playing Holiday Wishes, which launched in October 2023. Each $10 ticket offered players a chance to win prizes ranging from $10 up to $500,000.

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.