"I'm just like, ‘Yeah, we won’": Three NL friends thrilled with lottery win

For a group of friends who won the lottery, it started with a summer camping trip.

Mount Pearl, NL residents Rosalind Skinner, Kimberley Chaulk, and Kelli Bursey met when their children started playing hockey together and the trio soon became good friends.

Two years ago, they were sitting around a campfire when they decided that they were going to start buying Lotto 6/49 tickets every week.

So as part of their weekly lottery purchase, Skinner bought the $3 ticket at Marie’s Mini Mart. When she checked the ticket, she was shocked to learn that they had won in the February 15 Lotto 6/49 Gold Ball draw.

Rosalind Skinner, Kimberley Chaulk, and Kelli Bursey/Atlantic Lottery

The jackpot: $1 million.

Skinner recalls the excitement as she got on the phone to share the news with her friends.

“I was almost just as excited to find out what their reactions would be,” she said. “Kelli’s the screamer and Kim’s the crier and I’m just like, ‘Yeah, we won!'”

Bursey said that “there was a lot of laughing through the tears” when they found out they won.

“They were happy tears for sure,” she said.

The three friends call themselves the Lotto Buddies.

As for what the Lotto Buddies plan to do with their share of the winnings, they said they’re looking forward to an enjoyable and worry-free retirement when the time comes.

They also plan to use their windfall to pay off bills, finish home renovations, and for travelling.