"An unreal moment": Retiree goes grocery shopping, returns home a millionaire
A simple grocery shopping trip ended in a major celebration for a lottery player from Hamilton, Ontario.
Alan Slote has retired from work and has three decades of lottery experience. He won one million dollars in a Lotto 6/49 Gold Ball draw just a month shy of Christmas.
The 80-year-old went to the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto to pick up his prize and tell his story.
He was off to buy groceries when he decided to check a ticket he’d purchased at a Fortino’s in his city and discovered his life had changed dramatically.
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“This is my first big win. I usually play Lotto 6/49 and Lotto Max on grocery shopping days, which is twice a week. I’ve been playing for over 30 years,” he recalled.
“My wife was loading up the groceries, and I quickly called her over to double-check the win. Our jaws dropped,” he shared. “It took me so long to process this. I wasn’t able to process all the zeroes. We were both very emotional.”
For Slote, a prize with all those zeroes comes with grand plans of buying a new car.
He will also share the win with his family and donate some of the money.
“This is a huge blessing and an unreal moment,” Slote concluded.
Have you bought a lottery ticket? Now would be a good time.
The next Lotto 6/49 draw is on Saturday, January 6, with the Gold Ball jackpot increasing to $24 million.
If you didn’t beat the odds for Wednesday night’s draws, it’s worth checking to see if you’re a lucky lottery winner from Tuesday’s Lotto Max draw.
You can also try your luck in the next Lotto Max draw on Friday, January 5, with a whopping $40 million jackpot.
With files from Daily Hive’s Isabelle Docto
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