"We’re millionaires!" Canadian couple wins lottery just in time for retirement
Talk about perfect timing. After decades of trying their luck in the lottery, one Canadian couple can look forward to a cushy retirement after a life-changing win.
Belinda and Ian Park are parents and grandparents who live in Kitchener, Ontario. The couple has been married for 31 years and has played the lottery together for the same amount of time. Ian said he likes buying Lotto Max and Lotto 6/49 when there are huge jackpot prizes and often uses OLG’s Quick Pick feature to choose their numbers. He also always adds Encore.
“I went to the store to pick up our tickets and check a few from previous draws. I scanned the first ticket on the ticket checker and thought I saw ‘$100,000’ appear on the screen,” recalled Ian.
Irish Mae Silvestre/Daily Hive
But it’s a good thing he decided to double-check their ticket.
“Once the clerk was finished with other customers, I asked her to look at what I was seeing,” he said. “I scanned the ticket again, and she said, ’OMG! You won $1 million!’
Belinda and Ian had won a Maxmillions prize worth $1 million in the July 26 Lotto Max draw.
“Instantly, I could feel myself turning red,” Ian continued. “[The clerk] validated the ticket on the lottery terminal, and that’s when it sank in. I knew I had to tell Belinda immediately!”
Ian couldn’t wait to share the news with Belinda when she returned home from work.
“He showed me the ticket and said, ‘We’re millionaires!’ All I could say was, ‘No way! We’re millionaires? I can’t believe it!'” she said.
Winners Belinda and Ian Park (OLG)
Ian said their families were happy and excited when they learned they had won.
The couple said they’ll use their windfall to pay their mortgage and help their children. Their win couldn’t have come at a better time: they already plan to retire next year.
“Winning is an unbelievable feeling,” Ian stated. “We are both so happy.”
The winning ticket was purchased at Rexall on Ottawa Street in Kitchener.