Group of six from Ontario split lottery jackpot

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A group of six family members and close friends in Ontario are celebrating their shared lottery win.

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The ticket, purchased in the community of Dunnville in Haldimand County, was the winner of $250,000 in the June 20 Lottario draw.

The group also won additional prizes, bringing their total winnings to $259,539.

Lynn D. and Larry D. of York, Michelle T. of Caledonia and Albert D., Blair T., and Debora D. of Cayuga have been playing Lottario weekly for the last three years — but this is their first big win.

Learning they won

“At first, I thought we won $260 and didn’t think much of it,” Larry recalled.

“When I put my glasses on and checked it again, I froze,” he continued. “I saw all the zeros and was completely stunned. The first thing that went through my mind was, ‘This can’t be real!’”

Larry’s wife, Lynn, was with him when he checked their ticket on the OLG app and recounted how her speechless hubby could only show her his phone with their winning numbers emblazoned on the screen.

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Once they got over their shock and the happiness set it, they reached out to the rest of their group, all of whom reunited to make the trip to the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto to collect their windfall.

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Up first was Albert. “As soon as we told him, he started shouting with joy,” the couple said. “He kept saying, ‘You’re kidding! No way!’”

Albert also filmed his wife to record her reaction — or so he thought.

“I thought to myself, ‘This is a moment we’ll want to remember forever,’” Albert said. “After all the celebrating, I went back to watch the video. That’s when I realized I was so excited that I forgot to press record! We had a good laugh about it. The memory of celebrating together is something we’ll never forget, and that’s worth more than any video.”

Blair said he was half-asleep and nearly fell out of bed when he received Larry’s text message.

“I called him right away and asked, ‘Are you serious?’ I’m incredibly happy and grateful for this win.”

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Their big splurges

Meanwhile, a pregnant Michelle was grateful for the timing of the win. “It’s given our family a nice financial cushion. I feel incredibly thankful.”

Debora noted that the win allows her to “retire sooner.”

She added, “I’m also going to save for the future and treat myself to a nice, long cruise. That’s always been a dream of mine.”

Albert plans to treat himself to a quad for ice fishing, while Larry plans to upgrade to a riding lawn mower after mowing his acres of land by hand for more than 30 years.

Lynn is putting her share toward a birthday trip to Jamaica. “It’s the perfect excuse to celebrate!”

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