"Complete shock": Top lottery prize will help mail carrier retire more comfortably

Retiring comfortably in Canada is starting to look more and more like a dream, it seems like most people would have to win the lottery for it to become possible.

Luckily, that’s just what happened to Nancy Moore.

The mail carrier from Guelph, Ontario, was “struck by lightning” when she won the top prize in OLG’s Lightning Lotto draw on September 1. This marks her first major win in seven years of playing the lottery weekly.

When it was won, the prize had swollen to $281,454.70, so she took a pretty penny home.

Moore gravitates toward games like Lightning Lotto and Poker Lotto, but she also buys instant tickets every once in a while. The winning ticket was purchased at Anytime Convenience on Woodlawn Road East in Guelph.

The winner visited the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto to pick up her windfall and share her story.

“I was at the store when I decided to pick up a Lightning Lotto ticket. The lottery terminal froze, and I didn’t hear the ticket print,” she recalled. “I asked the store clerk what happened, and he said, ‘I’m not sure, but I think you won!’”

A slip was printed to prove her win, but she was further convinced when she spoke to an OLG representative confirming the prize. “I couldn’t believe it! I was in complete shock,” she shared.

The first person she shared the exciting news with was her partner. “He was just as shocked as I was and kept asking me, ‘Are you sure?’” she laughed.

Winning over a quarter of a million dollars comes with so many possibilities. Moore will spend part of it on her home and save the rest to make her retirement nice and cushy.

Just over a week before Moore’s win, another Ontarian’s retirement became sweeter with a $1 million win.

After winning a $1 million Maxmillions prize in the August 20 Lotto Max draw, Gilmour resident Robert Rouse can realize his dreams.

“My wife and I were unsure of what was happening. We couldn’t believe I won, and we were left in shock,” the retiree shared. “Winning has been like getting a bonus in life, easing my worries along the way.”