"It's overwhelming": Lottery winner grateful for the financial security

An Ontario woman says she feels much more financially secure after her big lottery win.

Dawn Sillaby-Smith, who lives in Sutton West, is a mother of two with six grandchildren. The retired educator said she occasionally tries her luck in the lottery.

She checked the results after buying a ticket for the December 7, 2021, Lotto Max draw.

“I went to the store to have my tickets checked and I saw ‘Big Winner’ come up. I was so excited – it was difficult to comprehend,” she said. That’s when she discovered that after matching all seven Encore numbers in exact order, she had won a sizeable $1 million.

Dawn Sillaby-Smith/OLG

“My children were the first I told – they were happy and excited for me,” said Sillaby-Smith while at the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto to claim her prize.

Now a million dollars richer, she said that she hasn’t made any decisions yet on what she plans to do with her money.

“I would like to spend more time with my grandchildren and travel,” she said. “It’s an overwhelming feeling having this financial security.”

The winning ticket was purchased at Rama Country Market and Gas Bar on Yellowhead Trail in Rama.