Ottawa County Lottery Club wins instant $6 million

The members of a three-person lottery syndicate from Ottawa County, Michigan, are still reeling from their $6 million win.

They won the prize by playing the Michigan Lottery's 500X Money Maker instant-win game. Their winning ticket was purchased at the Down The Hatch Party Store, located at 1866 Ottawa Beach Road, Suite B, in Holland.

The three friends have been playing together for some time, and they always play instant-win games. In an interview with the Michigan Lottery, the club's representative said:

I scratched off the ticket late one night, and when I saw the prize amount of $6 million, I had to look the ticket over several times to make sure I was seeing it right.

Still unable to believe his eyes, he woke up his wife and said, “I think I just won a really big prize; you have to come look at this.” His wife confirmed his win, and when he met with the club's other two members the next day, they were thrilled at the news.

Another club member said:

It's still hard to believe that we really won. I don't think it's going to hit us until we see the new balance in our bank accounts.

They recently traveled to the lottery headquarters to collect their prize money. They opted to take a one-time lump sum payment of around $4.1 million. The friends plan to use their winnings to pay off their mortgages and save the remainder.

How to play 500X Money Maker

This instant-win game was launched in September 2023. It is a $50 instant-win game with a top prize of $6 million. To play, scratch off the six dollar symbols to reveal the winning numbers. Then, scratch off the 45 stacks of cash symbols to reveal your numbers. If any of your numbers match the winning numbers, you win the prize amount shown with that number. Next, scratch off the fast spot boxes. If you reveal a star symbol in any of the boxes, you instantly win the prize amount shown in that box. If you reveal a 2X, 10X, 100X, or 500X, you can multiply your prize by that amount. Scratch off the win-all box, and if any of your numbers match the number revealed, you win every prize shown on the ticket. The prize range for this game is $75, $100, $200, $300, $500, $1,000, $50,000, and $6 million.

How the lottery helps Michigan

Each time you play the Michigan lottery, everyone wins. Out of every dollar you spend playing, a percentage goes to fund K-12 education, local businesses, and companies that employ Michigan residents. In 2023 alone, the Great Lake State Lottery contributed more than $1.3 billion to the Michigan School Aid Fund.