Great Lakes Wire

A Kent County woman has won a $1 million prize playing the Michigan Lottery's Wild Cherry instant game. The winner, who wishes to remain anonymous, decided to try her luck on the Wild Cherry game after the store did not have her preferred ticket.

"The store didn’t have the game I wanted to buy, so I decided to try my luck on the Wild Cherry game," she said. "I scratched the bar code and scanned the ticket. When I read the message that I needed to file a claim I thought I had won $10,000."

She recounted how she gave the ticket back to the clerk for verification. "She helped me scratch the rest of it off, and when she saw I had hit $1 million, she screamed: ‘She just won $1 million!’"

Lottery Commissioner Suzanna Shkreli commented on this unexpected win: "Never knowing when you might find a winning ticket is part of what makes playing instant games fun. Winning $1 million, especially on a game you are playing for the first time, is an incredibly exciting way to win!"

The winner visited Lottery headquarters to claim her prize as a one-time lump sum payment of approximately $693,000. She plans to purchase a new home and save the remainder.

Since its launch in September 2024, players have won over $25 million with Wild Cherry tickets. Each $10 ticket offers prizes ranging from $10 up to $1 million. Over $27 million in prizes remain available, including one more top prize of $1 million.

In 2023 alone, nearly $1.8 billion was awarded through lottery instant games in Michigan.

Lottery instant games can be purchased at retailers throughout the state.