LANSING – A Mackinac County man’s ritual of buying a Two Million Dollar Cashword ticket before a road trip led to a huge payday when he won the game’s $2 million top prize!

“Every time I go on a road trip with family or friends, I buy a Two Million Dollar Cashword ticket to scratch on the drive,” said the lucky 27-year-old player, who chose to remain anonymous. “I was in Sault Sainte Marie with a friend, and we were getting ready to head home, so I stopped and got my ticket per usual. As I was getting in the car I said to my friend: ‘Do you think people ever actually win on these?'”

The particular ticket he chose costs $30. A range of prizes in varying amounts between $30 and $2,000,000 may be won, with players getting a 1 in 3.44 chance of winning something. But the odds of winning the whopping two million bucks are only 1 in about 1,300,800.

“I scratched the ticket during the drive and didn’t realize until I was done scratching how many words I’d uncovered,” the Upper Peninsula man said. “I counted nine words a few times, so I thought I’d won $10,000 until I found a tenth word a few minutes later. When I realized I’d actually won $2 million, I’ll be honest, I cried like a baby! It still feels like a dream.”

The player bought his winning ticket at the Meijer gas station, located at 1106 West 3 Mile R. in Sault Sainte Marie. He recently visited Lottery headquarters to claim the big prize. He chose to receive his prize as a one-time lump sum payment of about $1.3 million rather than annuity payments for the full amount. With his winnings, he plans to take a vacation to Hawaii and invest.

Players have won more than $27 million playing Two Million Dollar Cashword, which launched in January, the Michigan Lottery reports. More than $65 million in prizes remain, including two $2 million top prizes, 16 $10,000 prizes, and 90 $5,000 prizes.

In 2025, Lottery players won more than $1.7 billion playing instant games.

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

For more Michigan Lottery content, visit: https://news.michiganlottery.com/media.

About 97 cents of every dollar spent on Lottery tickets is returned to the state in the form of contributions to the state School Aid Fund, prizes to players, and commissions to vendors and retailers. In the 2025 fiscal year, the Lottery provided more than $1.1 billion for Michigan’s public schools, its seventh contribution of more than $1 billion. Since it began in 1972, the Lottery has contributed more than $30 billion to support public education in Michigan. For additional information, follow the Michigan Lottery on Facebook, Instagram, X and online at www.michiganlottery.com.

For those who may have a problem with gambling bordering on addiction, the Michigan Problem Gambling Helpline, 1-800-270-7117, is available for crisis intervention and referral to treatment. Trained and experienced counselors are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week by phone or virtually to provide immediate help to address issues related to gambling disorder, including screening services and referrals to treatment or support groups.

Gambling Disorder Services, administered by the Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Administration, are contractually provided by Health Management Systems of America (HMSA), NorthCare Network, Northern Michigan Regional Entity (NMRE), Lakeshore Regional Entity (LRE), Southwest Michigan Behavioral Health (SWMBH), Mid-State Behavioral Health (MSBH), Community Mental Health Partner of Southeast Michigan (CMHPSM) and the Detroit-Wayne Mental Health Authority (DWMHA).