28-year-old claims advisor wins lottery, says parents stood still in shock

An Ontario woman was so stunned when she found out she won the lottery that she knew it simply had to be fake.

Stephanie Powell-Larsen is a 28-year-old who lives in Hamilton and works as a claims advisor. Despite her age, she’s no stranger to the lottery — she’s been playing for 10 years, having bought tickets ever since she was of age to play. And it turns out that June 7, 2022, was her lucky day.

Powell-Larsen recalls the moment when she found out about her big win.

“I scanned my ticket on the OLG App and thought, no way I just won the lottery – this has to be fake,” she said.

In her winning ticket, Powell-Larsen matched the last six of seven Encore numbers in the exact order in the June 7 Lotto Max draw. Her total prize: $100,000.

Stephanie Powell-Larsen/OLG

“I was in pure shock,” she said. And she wasn’t the only one.

When she shared the big news with her parents, she said that they “had no reaction.”

“They were so surprised they just stood still,” she said, laughing.

While at the OLG Prize Centre to collect her winnings, Powell-Larsen said that she’ll be using the money to buy a new car and putting the rest into savings.

Her winning ticket was purchased at Mini Mart on Dundas Street in Woodstock.