33-year-old who works in education wins lottery after playing for 14 years

One Ontario lottery player will soon be celebrating at a theme park with her family after a $3 ticket landed her a big win.

Thirty-three-year-old Jessica Shabaquay of Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation said that she’s been playing the lottery since the age of 19.

“I play twice a week,” she said.

Shabaquay, who works in education, had purchased an Instant Winner’s Circle ticket and was playing her ticket when she noticed something unusual.

“When I realized I had all the numbers in the Winner’s Circle, I didn’t believe it,” she said.

So she pulled out her phone to scan her ticket using the OLG App and the results left her shocked.

Jessica Shabaquay/OLG

“That’s when I confirmed I won $75,000,” she said. “I was shaking!”

While at the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto to pick up her cheque, Shabaquay said that it’s her first big lottery win.

When she told her parents the happy news, she said that they were in shock.

“I told my kids and they didn’t believe me!” she recalled.

Now with an extra $75,000 in her bank account, Shabaquay said she’ll be using her winnings to pay some bills. She’ll also be taking her kids to Toronto and Niagara Falls.

“We want to visit Canada’s Wonderland,” she said.

The winning ticket was purchased at Red River Co-op Gas Bar on Government Street in Dryden.