Family Christmas will never be the same for a Wayne County lottery club that won $500,000 playing the Michigan Lottery’s Treasure Tree instant game.

The winning ticket was purchased at the Meijer store, located at 37201 Warren Road in Westland.

“Each year our family buys tickets to pass around at our Christmas party,” said the club’s representative. “I’m not picky about what ticket I get, so I told everyone that I would take whatever game was left.”

That decision paid off. The last remaining Treasure Tree ticket was a $500,000 winner.

“When I uncovered the ‘WIN’ symbol and saw the $500,000 prize, I thought I was seeing something,” said the club’s representative. “I showed my husband and he confirmed that I’d won the prize. I couldn’t believe it!”

The lottery club recently visited Lottery headquarters to claim the big prize. The club consisted of the club representative, her husband, and the family member who bought the ticket. With their winnings they plan to establish education accounts for their children and then save the remainder.

Players won more than $13 million playing Treasure Tree, which launched in November 2016. Each $10 ticket offered players a chance to win prizes ranging from $10 up to $500,000.

Lottery instant games may be purchased at 11,000 retailers across the state.

In 2017, Lottery players won more than $960 million playing instant games.