Steve from Sault Ste. Marie has a family tradition of gifting OLG holiday Instant tickets to the adults in their family Christmas stockings every year. Last year, Steve’s wife decided to give a gift that could be so much more with an INSTANT HOLIDAY RICHES ticket in his stocking. He never expected this would be the year he would win the top prize of $250,000.
It was Christmas morning when Steve received his gifted Instant ticket and tucked it aside for a quiet moment later in the day. “We were getting ready to host our family for Christmas dinner, so we had lots to do,” Steve revealed while at the OLG Prize Centre. “When the turkey was in the oven, I took a moment to scratch my ticket.”
Steve matched the number 24 on his ticket and revealed the prize amount. “I was shocked. I couldn’t believe it was true,” he continued. “I kept saying ‘this is impossible.’ My wife came over to see for herself and we checked the ticket using the OLG app on our phones. We kept saying ‘no way’ and we paced the house with excitement checking the ticket over and over in disbelief.” Steve went to the store to check the ticket for more proof that he wasn’t mistaken.
“I was crying tears of joy. My family was thrilled for me. I spent the whole day looking at my kids with pride knowing this win will give them everything they need to pursue their education,” Steve said with a beaming smile.
When the news started to spread around his social circles, Steve was overwhelmed with the outpouring of love and support from his community. “I give a lot to my community, and it means so much to have their support and encouragement. Their love and kind words has been incredibly humbling.”
Steve has a very clear plan for his winnings that puts his children first. “I will use this money to help pay for my children’s education. The rest will be saved for our future,” Steve said as he looked at his wife with loving smile.
Winning with OLG brings out all the feels!