Lottery winner relieved she won't have to work into her 70s with $1M windfall

A lottery winner in Alberta says she is relieved she won’t have to work into her golden years after scoring $1 million on a Western Max draw.

Tammy Douglas told the Western Canadian Lottery Corporation (WCLC) that she took a break from her emails over the holiday season, and when she returned to her inbox, she found a million-dollar prize waiting for her.

Douglas netted the $1 million on the December 22 Western Max draw on a ticket she bought on PlayAlberta.ca.

Following the draw, the Yellowhead County local received a courtesy email informing her that her subscription had won. A few days later – the same day the winner happened to check her email – she received a courtesy phone call confirming the news.

“We were away for Christmas, and I hadn’t checked my emails,” she explained to the WCLC in a news release. “I started going through them the morning after getting home, and honestly, I thought it was a scam.”

“I got my husband and mom to take a look at the email, too, and then we all thought it was a scam,” she laughed. “Luckily, within 15 minutes or so, someone from AGLC called, and we were all shocked – it’s real!”

As for what Douglas plans to do with her newfound windfall, she said she has come up with a few ideas.

“We’re going to pay off our mortgage and invest for an earlier retirement,” she said. “It’s a relief knowing we don’t have to work into our 70s!”

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Douglas said she and her husband are also planning a special trip: “We went on a river cruise through France earlier this year, and it was amazing,” she explained.

“On our flight home we said we would start saving to go again; now, we’re just going to go – but through Germany this time!”

After misplacing a lottery ticket, the happy winner started buying her Western Max tickets on PlayAlberta.ca in the fall.

“I heard on the radio that buying a ticket on PlayAlberta would keep track of lottery tickets for me,” she laughed. “I thought, this is for me!”