Team effort: 7 groups of friends, family, and coworkers who won the lottery

Sometimes, playing the lottery as a group pays off.

Not only can it offer everyone a higher chance of winning by pooling resources together, but sometimes it’s just fun to play as a group.

Here are some of this year’s groups of friends, family, and coworkers who were thrilled to discover that they had won as a team.

“We were shaking with disbelief”: 16 GTA nurses split $2 million lottery win

After a difficult two years in the healthcare sector, 16 nurses from Ontario have a reason to celebrate. The group said that they’d worked together for 10 years and only started playing the lottery one month before they won.

“One of the group members checked our ticket and saw the number two and a bunch of zeroes and said, ‘I think we won something,’” recalled group leader Sonia Correia-Batista. “I said, ‘That’s not something, that’s $2 million!'”

Split evenly, each member gets $125,000, and plans range from buying new cars to completing home renovations.

“We’ve all had to push through exhaustion and burnout, and this win has been an incredible joy for us all and a great reason to celebrate,” said Correia-Batista.

“I’d like to travel to the Philippines to visit family”: Friends celebrate lottery win

Lina Bagalla and Marifi Delos Reyes have been friends and neighbours for 17 years and have been playing the lottery since 2017.

One day, Bagalla recalls waking up to check her ticket with her phone and hearing the “winner” tune on the OLG App.

After putting on her glasses to see how much they had won, she said she screamed and immediately told Delos Reyes, who said she almost cried when she saw the amount. The pair won a Lotto Max second prize of $52,113.10.

Delos Reyes will be putting her half of the money towards savings and a down payment on a home.

“I’d like to travel back to the Philippines for a vacation to visit family,” said Bagalla.

“I almost fainted!”: Lifelong friends celebrate a major lottery win

BC residents James Walsh and Douglas Snitchuk have known each other since eighth grade. They’ve also been playing the Lotto 6/49 together for years, so when Walsh checked their lottery ticket at a Walmart and saw that they had won, he had to check their ticket again and again to confirm that they really did win a $1 million Maxmillions prize.

“I counted the zeros and thought ‘No way!’ and must have checked five times before I gave it to the clerk. I almost fainted!” recalled Walsh.

Plans for their half of the money include attending sporting events and travelling.

“There were more zeroes than usual”: 27 friends from BC and Ontario win the lottery

A group of 27 friends from Ontario and BC have been playing the lottery for 10 years before finally winning big.

Group leader and Timmins resident Sylvie Bureau had checked their lottery ticket and was happy to learn that they had won what she thought was $1,000. But when she checked again, that’s when she noticed the extra zeroes.

“I quickly grabbed my phone and googled ‘How many zeroes are in one million,’” Bureau said, laughing. She added that calling everyone at 5 am to share the news was “one of my favourite phone calls ever.”

Split among 27, each member gets to take home $37,000.

“We will order a cake with a 6/49 sign as a memory,” said Bureau.

“She said we had to have a talk and I thought I was in trouble”: Couple wins $1M in lottery

Brampton, Ontario residents Peter and Sandra Crosby have been married for 44 years and have been regular lottery players. When Sandra called the lottery win line and realized that their numbers matched, she assumed it was a mistake.

“So I called the number again and I was overwhelmed and in disbelief,” she said. So she told her husband that they had to talk.

“Sandra said we had to have a talk and I thought I was in trouble,” recalled Peter, laughing.

The couple is now $1 million richer. They plan to use the money to enjoy their retirement.

Man waited until Monday to tell his 9 coworkers about their big lottery win

A group of 10 coworkers in Ontario were thrilled to discover that after playing the lottery together for four years, they had won a Maxmillion prize worth $500,000.

“My brain couldn’t process the prize amount,” recalled group leader Avadis Jamjian. “I was in pure shock!”

Jamjian said he waited until Monday to share the news with his coworkers.

“They were so surprised,” he recalled. “After all these years, we finally won a big prize.”

Jamjian said he plans to celebrate by going to Cuba for a family vacation.

“It’s a beautiful way to celebrate Diwali”: Longtime friends surprised by lottery win

Diwali celebrations were extra special for a pair of friends who won the lottery.

Vikneswararajah (Vik) Amirthalingam and Paramsothy (Param) Kathirgamu from Ajax, Ontario, have been friends for 10 years and started playing the lottery together this year.

“I used the Ticket Checker and saw ‘Big Winner’ — $100,000,” said Amirthalingam. “I was shocked and excited.”

He immediately called Kathirgamu who rushed to meet him at the gas station.

“I was so surprised,” said Kathirgamu while at the OLG Prize Centre to pick up their winnings. “It’s a beautiful way to celebrate Diwali.”

With files from Laine Mitchell