"It's your lucky day": Mom kept her huge lottery win a secret until family dinner
Lottery winners sometimes like to keep their big wins secret from the public, but one recent winner had a good reason to keep things hush-hush from her family.
Theressa Stade is a manager who lives in Chesley, Ontario. She said she enjoys playing the lottery, especially when there’s a big jackpot or when she sees a new game. One day, she spotted the Merry Millions tickets, a limited-time lottery game available for $20, and decided to splurge.
The game has three $1 million guaranteed Top Prizes, three $50,000 Early Bird prizes, plus 402 prizes that range between $1,000 and $250,00.
“I decided to buy five Merry Millions tickets because it was new and for the multiple draws the game offered,” said Stade.
She had other things on her mind as she was about to head off to enjoy some time off.
“I was getting ready to leave for vacation and decided to check my tickets on the OLG app,” Theressa recalled. “I thought it said I won $2,500 at first, so I tucked it away.”
She put the winning ticket aside and decided to check the other tickets.
Theressa Stade of Chesley, Ontario (OLG)
“I checked my other tickets and came back to this one, and that’s when I saw the $250,000 prize amount,” said Stade. “I gave the ticket to my husband and had him check it, too. He couldn’t believe it!”
But rather than immediately sharing the news with her family, she decided to keep it a secret until she could get her children together for dinner.
“I wrapped the ticket and had them open it. I said, ‘It’s your lucky day — I won big, and I’m going to share it with you!'” she recalled. “They were so surprised!”
In addition to sharing her good fortune with her children, she said the money would pay down her mortgage.
“It’s unbelievable!” said Stade.
The winning ticket was purchased at Esso on 10th Street in Owen Sound.
All forms of gambling, including the lottery, involve risk and outcomes are based on chance. Individuals are strongly advised to gamble responsibly. If you are experiencing any signs of gambling-related issues, you can find resources here.
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