An Alpena County man’s morning routine led to a life-changing $500,000 prize on the Michigan Lottery’s 50X Wild Time instant game.

“Each morning, I buy a newspaper, coffee, and one Lottery ticket,” said the player, who chose to remain anonymous. “When I scratched the ticket off, all I could think when I scratched the prize amount was: ‘Well, that’s weird.’

“I told my wife right away and we both just felt a sense of relief come over us. This means so much to our family and will really take financial pressure off of us.”

The player bought his winning ticket at the Alpena Shell gas station, located at 1017 Chisolm Street in Alpena. He recently visited Lottery headquarters to claim his prize. With his winnings, he plans to pay bills and then save the remainder.

Players have won more than $60 million playing 50X Wild Time, which launched in February 2024. Each $10 ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from $10 up to $500,000. More than $31 million in prizes remain, including two $500,000 top prizes, 66 $10,000 prizes, and 116 $1,000 prizes.

In 2024, Lottery players won nearly $1.8 billion playing instant games.

Lottery instant games may be purchased at retailers across the state.