An Isabella County man and his wife were dumbfounded when they won $500,000 playing the Michigan Lottery’s Detroit Lions instant game!

The 74-year-old player, who chose to remain anonymous, bought his winning ticket at GCK Oil Inc., located at 206 Main Street in Blanchard. Blanchard is about 20 miles southwest of Mount Pleasant.

“I went to the store to buy a Powerball ticket, and my wife told me to get a few Detroit Lions tickets while I was there,” said the player. “I scratched the tickets the next morning and when I saw the $500,000 prize, I said to my wife, ‘Looks like we’re going to Lansing!’

“When I told her how much we’d won, she thought she was going to pass out! We were both dumbfounded. The shock hasn’t worn off yet, so we still can’t think straight, but what we do know is that this prize is going to be life-changing for us.”

The lucky player recently visited Lottery headquarters to claim his prize. With his winnings, he plans to donate, set some aside for his grandkids, and then save the remainder.

Players have won more than $7 million playing the Detroit Lions instant game, which launched in August. Each $5 ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from $5 up to $500,000. More than $21 million in prizes remain, including two $500,000 top prizes and seven $2,000 prizes.

In 2024, Lottery players won nearly $1.8 billion playing instant games.

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