37-year-old mom wins $100K on Plinko lottery ticket -- and a way bigger prize

A lottery player just couldn’t believe her luck when she won a six-figure lottery prize and was thrilled when she realized that she had an additional chance to win an even bigger prize.

Woodbridge, Ontario resident Rajeeva Tharmalingam is a 37-year-old mother of four. She had purchased a $5 Plinko lottery ticket and was playing her ticket when she discovered that she had won the game’s minimum prize.

The total: $100,000. But there’s more: the win meant that she could play the gigantic Plinko board at the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto for a chance to add to her prize.

“I didn’t expect the board to be so big,” she said. “When I climbed to the top of the board, I felt like my heart was going to stop. I couldn’t wait to see how much I was going to win.”

After dropping her Plinko chip, she anxiously waited to see how much she would win in total.

Rajeeva Tharmalingam/OLG

And then she heard it: $300,000.

Tharmalingam recalls laughing uncontrollably.

“I was so happy – jumping up and down in happiness,” she said.

She already has plans for her winnings: she’ll be using the money to pay off her mortgage and use the rest to invest in her children’s future.

But she’ll also be celebrating her big win by creating some great memories with her family.

“I would also like to travel to Europe with my husband and kids,” she said.

Tharmalingam’s winning ticket was purchased at Winner’s Booth on Martin Grove Road in Woodbridge.