LANSING, Michigan — A 25-year-old woman from Indiana was the luckiest person in her family’s white elephant gift exchange on Christmas after trading gifts for a Michigan Lottery instant game.
Emily Hickox traded her dad a flashlight for his Detroit Lions instant game from the Michigan Lottery. It turns out that the ticket was a $500,000 jackpot winner.
“My cousin purchased the ticket for the white elephant gift exchange at our family Christmas party,” said Hickox. “My dad actually won the ticket in the gift exchange, and I won the gift he brought, a flashlight. He wanted his gift back, so we made an agreement after the game to trade gifts.”
The winning ticket was purchased at the Meijer store, located at 2799 10 Mile Road in Rockford.
“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!”
When Hickox claimed her prize, she told the Michigan Lottery that she had plans to buy a new car, invest and share with her parents and her cousin who purchased the ticket.
“We love hearing all of the fun and exciting ways our players find out they’ve won big prizes, and a win like this is what every Lottery player dreams of!” said Lottery Commissioner Suzanna Shkreli. “Winning a prize of $500,000 is a thrill in itself, combined with the excitement of winning on Christmas, and your birthday, from a ticket you received as a gift makes it even more incredible. Congratulations Emily!”
The Detroit Lions instant game costs $5 for a ticket and has prizes ranging between $5 and $500,000. There is only a single $500,000 prize remaining to be claimed.