Three coworkers' $95k lotto win is a lesson to always check your texts

OLG

A trio of Toronto and GTA coworkers will be splitting almost $95,000 after winning the second prize in the OLG’s February 17, 2023, Lotto Max draw. Their win serves as an important reminder to stay on top of your text messages, as one member who neglected to read their group chat spent a full day not knowing about their lucky ticket.

After playing the lottery together for over 25 years, Kiplyn Mckinson of Brampton, Antonio Lanzillotta of Toronto, and Kenneth Dolbel of Toronto collectively won $94,468.90 in the February 17 draw, which comes out to $31,489.63 per person.

The winning ticket was purchased at Quick Pick Convenience on Sandalwood Parkway in Brampton, but it wasn’t until Mckinson checked the ticket using the OLG app that the group learned of their win.

“I heard the winning music play. I looked at the screen and thought we won $94 – but when I took a closer look, I realized we won $94,468! I sent Antonio and Kenneth a picture of the ticket to double check,” shared Kiplyn while collecting the group’s winnings at the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto.

Lanzillotta says he “thought it was a joke” at first, “but when I checked the numbers online, I knew it was true!”

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Dolbel was the last of the group to learn of the win after ignoring his text messages.

“I didn’t see the message until the next day when Antonio called me and told me to check my texts,” said Dolbel. “I just give Kiplyn $2 every week so we can play together. I never expected to win!”

Members of the group all have different plans for their winnings. Mckinson intends to spend his share on home renovations. Lanzillotta also wants to upgrade his home while sharing some of his newfound dough with his children. Dolbel also plans to help out his kids with his share of the winnings, while also buying a new TV for his basement.

But if this group win has you racing to put on a coat and head to the convenience store for a lotto ticket, you should probably be aware of the astronomically low odds of winning.

There is just a 1 in 33,294,800 chance of winning a Lotto Max Jackpot.

And at $5 per ticket once a week for the past 25 years, this group of three had to fork over an estimated $6,500 in ticket costs before actually winning a large sum.