(FOX 2) - A white elephant gift swap with her dad led to an Indiana woman winning a big chunk of cash on Christmas.
Emily Hickox, 25, originally received the gift her father bought, a flashlight, while he had gotten a Michigan Lottery Detroit Lions instant game. That ticket was purchased at a Rockford Meijer.
"He wanted his gift back, so we made an agreement after the game to trade gifts," she said. "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!"
Hickox plans to buy a new car, invest, and share some money with her cousin who bought the ticket, as well as her parents.
By the numbers:
Players have won more than $21 million playing the Detroit Lions instant game, which launched in September, according to the Michigan Lottery.
Each $5 ticket has the chance to win prizes ranging from $5 up to $500,000.
In 2023, lottery players won nearly $1.8 billion playing scratch-offs.
The Source: Information in this story is from a Michigan Lottery press release.
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