Having to settle for a second option proved to be a good thing for Bonnie Hitchings.
Hitchings became one of the latest $1 million winners from the Michigan Lottery after a retail ran out of her favorite game, forcing her to try a new game.
Hitchings opted for Cashword Times 20 and took home one of the top prizes of $1 million.
She’s now one of dozens of Michigan Lottery players to earn at least a $1 million prize this year.
Hitchings goes from $500 potential prize to $1 million
Hitchings lives in Johannesburg and last week she bought her winning ticket at a Shell gas station in Gaylord.
Looking to play the Win $100, $200 or $500 game that costs $20 and gives out a top prize of just $500, Hitchings was disappointed to learn the station was sold out.
That’s when her life-changing adventure began.
“I stopped at the gas station to buy a few Daily 4 tickets,” said Hitchings in a press release from the Michigan Lottery. “When I was checking out, I asked for the Win $100, $200 or $500 ticket, but they were sold out, so I got a Cashword Times 20 ticket instead. I scratched the barcode and scanned the ticket three times. I kept getting a message to file a claim at the lottery office, so I assumed their scanner was broken and went out to my car to scan it on the Lottery app.”
“When I scanned the ticket, confetti came up on the screen with a message saying I won $1 million. I went back into the store to show the worker and everyone in the store was so excited. Everywhere I go lately I have people stopping to congratulate me. It’s a crazy and exciting feeling!”
The 67-year-old Hitchings then visited Lottery headquarters to claim her prize, which she opted for the one-time lump sum of $634,000.
She is planning on taking a trip to Alaska with her winnings and investing.
Millions still available in Michigan Lottery instant games
Hitchings joins a list of 43 different people that have won at least $1 million prize from the Michigan Lottery in 2023.
The top prize given out this year was $8.76 million to a Lotto 47 winner in August.
When it comes to Cashword Times 20, players have collected more than $77 million in winnings since the game launched in September of 2022. A total of $19 million in prizes remain for the game, including one more $1 million top prize.
As the holidays approach, it’s good to know which instant lottery games are still offering the top prizes. We’ve got you covered in our instant lottery prize guide. As of last week, more than 70 prizes of at least $1 million were still available.
Collectively in 2022, Michigan Lottery players won more than $1.7 billion in prizes playing instant games.
