A store clerk’s lucky pick led to a Kent County man winning a $500,000 prize playing the Michigan Lottery’s Luxury Cashword instant game.

The lucky 55-year-old player, who chose to remain anonymous, bought his winning ticket at Kent Mini Mart, located at 345 South Main Street in Kent City.

“I buy instant tickets one or two times a month, but I don’t usually play Cashword games,” said the player. “I was at the store and had $10 in my pocket, so I asked the clerk to give me a $10 ticket, and he handed me this Luxury Cashword ticket.

“I scratched the ticket when I got home and after revealing a few words I thought: ‘This is going to be a good ticket!’ When I got done scratching, I thought I’d won maybe $1,000, but I wasn’t sure. I took it to the store and got a message to file a claim, so I decided to take it to my uncle’s house and have him look it over because he plays Cashword tickets all the time. After my uncle looked it over, he said: ‘You won big!’ I was pretty shocked to find out it was a $500,000 winner!”

The lucky player visited Lottery headquarters recently to claim his big prize. With his winnings, he plans to buy a house and a new truck.

Players have won more than $36 million playing Luxury Cashword, which launched in March 2023. Each $10 ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from $10 up to $500,000. More than $23 million in prizes remain, including 22 $1,000 prizes.

In 2023, Lottery players won nearly $1.8 billion playing instant games.

Lottery instant games may be purchased at retailers across the state.