LANSING, November 15, 2004 – Christmas came a little early for one Traverse City woman when she won the $500,000 top prize in the Holiday Surprise Instant game.

The winner, who chose to remain anonymous, said she hid the winning ticket in her daughter’s pantry.  “Right between the rice and the pasta,” said the winner.

Stunned by the fact that she had won, the winner said she was shaking after scratching off the winning ticket.

The winner plans to sell her home and build a new one closer to her children, as well as open saving accounts to pay for her grandchildren’s college educations.

The winning ticket was purchased at Cherry Knoll Shell, 1031 Hammond Road East, in Traverse City.

All proceeds from the Lottery are contributed to the state School Aid Fund which supports kindergarten through 12th grade public education in Michigan.  In fiscal year 2004, the contribution was $644.5 million.

For additional information, please visit the Lottery’s Web site at http://www.michigan.gov/lottery.

Holiday Surprise is just one of many Michigan Lottery instant tickets available at more than 9,000 Lottery retailers statewide.

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