An Ingham County woman got the shock of a lifetime when she thought she won $5,000 playing the Two Million Dollar Cashword instant game, only to scan the ticket and discover she was a $2 million winner!

“As I was scratching my Two Million Dollar Cashword ticket, I noticed I had a lot of words on the third puzzle, but I didn’t count them,” said the lucky 61-year-old player, who chose to remain anonymous. “Once I was done scratching the entire ticket, I looked at the prize legend and assumed I’d won the $5,000 prize. When I scanned the ticket on the Michigan Lottery app and saw $2 million, I was in complete shock!

“It didn’t start sinking in that this is real until I pulled up to the Lottery office to claim my prize. I started shaking and said to myself: ‘This is getting real now!’”

The player bought her winning ticket at the USA 2 Go Quick Store, located at 4495 Holt Road in Holt. She recently visited Lottery headquarters to claim the big prize. She chose to receive her prize as a one-time lump sum payment of about $1.3 million rather than annuity payments for the full amount. With her winnings, she plans to buy a new house, buy a vacation home in Florida, and share with her family.

Players have won more than $54 million playing the Two Million Dollar Cashword instant game, which launched in January. Each $30 ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from $30 up to $2 million. More than $38 million in prizes remain, one $2 million top prize, eight $10,000 prizes, and 62 $5,000 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.