"We made an agreement after the game to trade gifts," winner Emily Hickox said An Indiana woman recently participated in a white elephant gift exchange — but she had no idea it would lead to her winning a prize worth half a million dollars.

Indiana resident Emily Hickox, 25, ended up with a winning Michigan Lottery ticket worth $500,000 after doing a white elephant gift exchange with her family.

“My cousin purchased the ticket for the white elephant gift exchange at our family Christmas party,” said 25,-year-old Emily Hickox. “My dad actually won the ticket in the gift exchange, and I won the gift he brought, a flashlight. He wanted his gift back, so we made an agreement after the game to trade gifts.

Emily Hickox originally received a flashlight as part of the gift exchange but traded it in for a Detroit Lions instant ticket her dad received.

An Indiana woman won a $500,000 lottery by playing a Michigan instant game ticket over the holidays. Emily Hickox was gifted the lottery ticket through a white elephant gift exchange she participated in with her family.

Emily won $500,000 from a Detroit Lions scratch-off lottery ticket she received during a white elephant gift exchange.

A father’s loss was a daughter’s gain — a big one — following a white elephant gift exchange in Michigan. While the Indiana woman won a jackpot prize that left her “speechless,” the father came away with a household tool that is a little bit less life changing.

An Indiana woman is $500,000 richer after winning money on a lottery ticket she received during a white elephant gift exchange.

An Indiana woman won $500,000 after trading a flashlight for a lottery ticket during her family's white elephant gift exchange.

"My cousin purchased the ticket for the white elephant gift exchange at our family Christmas party," Hickox said. "My dad actually won the ticket in the gift exchange, and I won t