"I thought she was having a health crisis": Coworkers react to big lottery win
After playing the lottery together for just a few months, a group of people from Ontario were in complete shock when they found out about their huge win.
The four coworkers from the Greater Toronto Area include Gail Simon of Nestleton, Bradley Hale of Port Perry, Lorna Horner of Uxbridge, and Shirley Heppell of Holland Landing. They had purchased an Ontario 49 ticket for the August 20 draw.
Simon said she checked their ticket using the app but assumed they didn’t win much.
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“I was checking the ticket and saw we matched three numbers, so I thought we won $10 at first,” she recalled.
However, as more and more numbers started matching up, Simon was in total disbelief.
“I checked using the OLG App, and I thought it was broken,” she said.
She learned they had won the Ontario 49 top prize worth $2 million, making each of them a half million dollars richer.
Coworkers Gail Simon, Badley Hale, Lorna Horner, and Shirley Heppell/OLG
Simon immediately called Horner to tell her about their big win.
“I thought she was having a health crisis because she said she had pains in her chest,” Horner recalled. “Then she told me we won. I couldn’t believe it.”
Heppell was at work when she received a text with the photo of their winning ticket.
“I had to count all the zeroes,” Heppell said. “I had butterflies in my stomach.”
The happy group picked up their cheque together at the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto.
They said they have different plans for their winnings: some plan to invest, buy a new car, or put the money towards home renovations.
“It’s the most amazing thing you’ll ever experience,” said Horner. “It’s life-changing.”
The winning ticket was purchased at Petro Canada on Scugog Street in Port Perry.
Ontario 49 is $1 per play, and the next draw takes place on Saturday, September 17.
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