"I messaged everyone right away!" How much three GTA groups won in the lottery

From a group of nurses to co-workers, many have tried their luck playing the lottery as a team and actually won.

“When you pool your money, playing as a group gives you more chances to win,” states the OLG website. “So get your friends, family, coworkers, teammates, or even your favourite baristas together and play as a group.”

And that’s exactly what these three winning groups from the GTA did, proving that teamwork really does make that lottery dream work.

$100,000: Group of eight from the GTA

Eric Cohen/OLG

April 1 was a lucky day for this group of eight. During the draw, it turns out that they managed to match the last six of the seven ENCORE numbers in exact order, winning them $100,000. Split eight ways, each member gets to take home $12,500.

Members of the group include Beverly Slover (Toronto), Enid Friedman (Toronto), Myron Lax (Toronto), Roslyn Cohen (Thornhill), Shirly Toy (Toronto), Steven Cohen (Thornhill), Susan Charron (Toronto), and Eric Cohen (Richmond Hill), who represents the group.

Their winning ticket was purchased at Petro Canada on Stouffville Road in Gormley.

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$100,000: A pair from London and Mississauga

Edmund Siauciunas/OLG

Sometimes you don’t even have to play as a big group.

Edmund Siauciunas of London and Felix Siauciunas of Mississauga teamed up to play the Instant Holiday Magic, which costs $5 to play and has a top prize of $100,000.

It looks like it was the best $5 they ever spent because each of them is now $50,000 richer after winning the $100,000.

The ticket was purchased at AA to Zee Dollar and Discount on Bloor Street in Mississauga.

$149,924.10: A group of six from the GTA

Jin Hui Li, Chi Lau, Miao Yen Lee, Xian Xu, Ying Chen, and Zi-Ying Mo/OLG

Patience and perseverance have paid off for this group of family and friends who have been playing the lottery for a year and a half.

It all began because of “Uncle Li,” the group’s representative. The group of six includes Jin Hui Li (Markham), Chi Lau (Scarborough), Miao Yen Lee (Markham), Xian Xu (Markham), Ying Chen (Markham), and Zi-Ying Mo (Newmarket).

“A friend noticed that someone in our area won, so I checked our ticket using the OLG App. I was surprised!” recalled Li, who discovered that they won the second prize during the February 18 Lotto Max draw — a total of $149,924.10.

“I messaged everyone in the group chat right away!”

Split six ways, each member got to take home $24,987.35.

Although they haven’t decided on what they plan to do with their winnings, they do plan to continue playing the lottery as a team.

The winning ticket was purchased at Denison Ticket & Tobacco Shop on Denison Street in Markham.