A change in weekend plans resulted in a Bay County woman winning a $500,000 prize playing the Michigan Lottery’s Detroit Lions instant game!
Traci Verbowski, of Kawkawlin, bought her winning ticket at the 7-Eleven, located at 4300 Wilder Road in Bay City. Kawkawlin is about 15 miles north of Saginaw.
“Congratulations to Traci and her family on their huge $500,000 win playing the Detroit Lions instant game,” said Lottery Commissioner, Suzanna Shkreli. “The excitement for the Lottery’s Detroit Lions themed instant games can be felt all over Michigan and there are still two top prizes out there waiting to be won! Go Lions!”
“I really wanted to go on a vacation a few weekends ago, but we ended up staying home and went out to dinner that Saturday night instead,” said Verbowski. “After dinner, I ed I had a few Detroit Lions winning tickets, so I stopped to cash them and purchased some more. I put the tickets in my purse until I got home later that night.
“When I scratched one of the tickets and saw I won $500,000, I yelled: ‘I think I just won a lot of money!’ I showed my family the ticket and no one could believe what they were seeing. I haven’t slept a full night since because I have been so anxious and excited to come claim my prize.
“I’m so glad we ended up not going on vacation that weekend, because if we did, I wouldn’t be here claiming $500,000!”
Verbowski, 50, visited Lottery headquarters recently to claim her big prize. With her winnings, she plans to purchase a boat and then save the remainder.
“I have been a Detroit Lions fan my whole life, so it was extra exciting to win on the new Detroit Lions game!”
Players have won more than $5 million playing the Detroit Lions instant game, which launched in September. Each $5 ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from $5 up to $500,000. More than $21 million in prizes remain, including two $500,000 prizes and eight $2,000 prizes.
In 2023, Lottery players won nearly $1.8 billion playing instant games.
Lottery instant games may be purchased at retailers across the state.
