A 25-year-old Indiana woman found out she won $500,000 on Christmas, and her birthday, playing the Michigan Lottery’s Detroit Lions instant game, which she won in a white elephant gift exchange!

“My cousin purchased the ticket for the white elephant gift exchange at our family Christmas party,” said Emily Hickox. “My dad actually won the ticket in the gift exchange, and I won the gift he brought, a flashlight. He wanted his gift back, so we made an agreement after the game to trade gifts.

“I scratched the ticket off on Christmas, which also happens to be my birthday, and thought I won $50,000. I downloaded the Michigan Lottery app and created an account to check the ticket on the app scanner. I was expecting to see $50,000, so when I saw the extra zero, I was speechless! I couldn’t comprehend that I’d just won $500,000!”

“We love hearing all of the fun and exciting ways our players find out they’ve won big prizes, and a win like this is what every Lottery player dreams of!” said Lottery Commissioner Suzanna Shkreli. “Winning a prize of $500,000 is a thrill in itself, combined with the excitement of winning on Christmas, and your birthday, from a ticket you received as a gift makes it even more incredible. Congratulations Emily!”

The winning ticket was purchased at the Meijer store, located at 2799 10 Mile Road in Rockford.

Hickox, 25, recently visited Lottery headquarters to claim her big prize. With her winnings, she plans to buy a new car, invest, and share with her cousin who purchased the ticket and her parents.

Players have won more than $21 million playing the Detroit Lions instant game, which launched in September. Each $5 ticket offered players a chance to win prizes ranging from $5 up to $500,000.

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

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