Ontario woman hits jackpot less than a year after playing her first lotto ticket

A 30-year-old Kitchener, Ont., woman, who has only been playing the lottery for about eight months, is celebrating her first major win.

Maia T. won the $250,000 top prize with Instant Bingo Multiplier — and the news was too big to let her husband sleep through.

“I sat there staring at the ticket for about an hour,” Maia said while picking up her prize at the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto.

Then, she decided she couldn’t keep the news to herself until morning.

“Then I woke my husband up to reveal the news, saying, ‘I think I won a quarter of a million dollars.’ He couldn’t believe it!”

Maia, a homemaker, said she has been playing the lottery with OLG for less than a year and was delighted to be celebrating her first major prize.

“Bingo is my favourite game,” she said.

After the shock settled in, Maia and her husband found a fitting way to celebrate the late-night surprise.

“It felt so nice,” Maia said. “We popped some champagne and celebrated together. I also shared the news with my best friend.”

Now, Maia is looking forward to putting the prize toward a few meaningful plans, including a honeymoon trip to Croatia and Italy. She also plans to share some of the money with family and donate to her church.

Of course, she has already made room for a few practical and fun purchases, too.

“We’re also planning on purchasing a deep freezer,” Maia said. “I’ve already splurged on a shopping trip and treated myself to some new AirPods.”

The winning ticket was purchased at Circle K on Westforest Trail in Kitchener, Ont.

Instant Bingo Multiplier is a $10 OLG instant game with a top prize of $250,000. To play, players scratch the caller’s card, then scratch the matching numbers on the bingo cards. Players win by completing eligible lines, patterns or other winning combinations, and the multiplier feature can increase certain prizes. The odds of winning any prize are 1 in 3.59.

Tools to stop gambling

If you’re looking to take a break from gambling, self-exclusion programs can be effective tools. See here for resources that are available across Canada.