Winning big money in the lottery is almost always too good to believe at first.
Many lottery winners across Canada have shared that they were totally taken aback upon realizing their lucky numbers worked. Some even thought they were being pranked, and it took several days to let the good news sink in.
One Canadian man, who has been playing different lottery games for nearly 30 years, recently won a $50,000 top prize with OLG’s Instant Bingo and experienced a similar shock.
However, it was exacerbated by the fact that he won his first-ever lotto fortune on April Fools’ Day.
OLG
Allan Eichler lives in Sarnia, Ontario. On April 25, he travelled to Toronto to visit the OLG Prize Centre and pick up the gigantic cheque bearing his name.
“I scratched the ticket at home and saw I won but thought I made a mistake. I thought it had to be an April Fools’ joke!” he shared.
But the pinch-me moment was far from over. Allan went to the store to check his ticket at an OLG terminal.
“When the Big Winner screen appeared, I kept thinking, ‘There’s no way this is real!’” he said. “I am so happy! I am going to do a lot of good with this money.
Now, the retiree plans to share his prize money with his sister and buy himself a brand-spanking-new pair of shoes.
The winning ticket was bought at a convenience store in Sarnia.
Some Canadian lottery players are starting this month with huge wins after the Lotto 6/49 draw Wednesday night.
While no one matched the winning lottery numbers for the $40 million Gold Ball jackpot, we still saw some exciting windfalls.
April showers brought May flowers for one lottery player in Abbotsford, BC, who matched the winning numbers (03108135-03) of the White Ball draw to win $1 million.
Read more about Wednesday night’s draw here.
All forms of gambling, including the lottery, involve risk and outcomes are based on chance. Individuals are strongly advised to gamble responsibly. If you are experiencing any signs of gambling-related issues, you can find resources here.