An Emmet County man had a morning he will never forget when he stopped and bought a VIP Cashword ticket on the way to work and won $500,000!

“I love the Cashword games, so those are the tickets I usually buy,” said the 39-year-old player, who chose to remain anonymous. “I bought this ticket on my way to work and scratched it off in my car. I thought it was going to be a losing ticket until I got to the last few letters in the call letter box. I didn’t think it was real when I finished scratching and saw I’d won $500,000. It was crazy!”

The player bought his winning ticket at D & D Interstate LLC, located at 8371 Mill Street in Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt is 10 miles north of Gaylord. He recently visited Lottery headquarters to claim his prize. With his winnings, he plans to buy a house and then save the remainder.

Players have won more than $35 million playing the VIP Cashword instant game, which launched in October 2024. Each $10 ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from $10 up to $500,000. More than $17 million in prizes remain, including one $500,000 top prize and 21 $1,000 prizes.

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

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