Solmaz from North York is an occasional player with OLG. She typically gets herself a LOTTO 6/49 Quick Pick ticket with ENCORE maybe once a month. She had the most unbelievable experience when she discovered her ticket won the LOTTO 6/49 $1 Million Gold Ball prize.
“I was on my way back from a cottage and was in a different city when my friend and I stopped at a gas station,” Solmaz said while at the Prize Centre. “Since I was in a different city I thought I would buy a ticket and try my luck.”
“While I bought my new tickets, I scanned my old tickets,” Solmaz continued. “All I could see on the screen was ‘Congratulations’. I was like no way; I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I honestly thought it was an ad. I thought to myself, ‘is this really an ad or is this real’. I called my friend over to look, as he saw, his eyes got big and he looked me in the eyes and goes, ‘Solmaz, this is real! This is not an ad.’”
“At that point I began to shake, my hands were sweating. I was so nervous,” Solmaz recalled. Still stuck in disbelief, couldn’t fathom the prize amount and had to ask her friend to confirm that too. “So how much is it,” Solmaz asked. “Is it $100,000? He laughed and said ‘no, that’s a million dollars.’”
“I thought I was going to have a heart attack,” Solmaz revealed. “I was saying ‘one million dollars? Oh my god. Is this real?’ At that point I was shaking, my face was red. This was not the type of news I was expecting to receive.”
“It was a 2-hour drive back and honestly, it felt like we were driving for days! I couldn’t hold in the excitement, I just had to scream! As soon as we arrived I ran up to tell my mom. She thought something was wrong considering how red my face was. I told her I won a million dollars, and she began to cry, she was so happy for me.”
Aside from her mom and her friend who confirmed the win, Solmaz didn’t tell anyone else about her incredible prize. “I plan to surprise my son and close family after I have the cheque,” she revealed. “My plan is to invite everyone to dinner and then break the news. I’m so excited to see everyone’s face.”
“I’m definitely the first in my family to ever win the lottery, it’s a life-changing feeling. I can’t even put into words how blessed I feel. It’s an out-of-this-world feeling, just unreal. I’m still shaking as we speak! I have goosebumps all over my arms right now,” she smiled.
Solmaz is going to make the most out of her $1 Million prize. “My priority is to pay off all my debt. My son starts university in September, so I plan to help him out with his tuition. I was also share some with my family and friends to help them.”