A Livingston County man turned a few dollars from returning cans into a whopping $500,000 playing the Michigan Lottery’s new Stampede Payout instant game!

“I have a ritual of returning cans every Sunday morning and then using the money to buy lottery tickets,” said the lucky 39-year-old player, who chose to remain anonymous. “After I bought my tickets, I put them in my glove box and ran errands the rest of the day.

“Later that night after dinner, I sat down and scratched the tickets. When I saw I’d won $500,000, I started yelling and jumping up and down! I tried to scan the ticket on the app after, but my hands were shaking so bad I couldn’t get it to scan until later.

“Winning $500,000 is an amazing feeling and means I now have financial freedom.”

The player bought his winning ticket at the CVS, located at 22421 Pontiac Trail in South Lyon. He recently visited Lottery headquarters to claim the big prize. With his winnings, he plans to pay off his house, take a vacation, and take his friends out to dinner.

Players have won more than $4 million playing Stampede Payout, which launched in August. Each $5 ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from $5 up to $500,000. More than $17 million in prizes remain, including two $500,000 top prizes and seven $2,000 prizes.

In 2025, Lottery players won more than $1.7 billion playing instant games.

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