Three Ontario retirees score three big lottery wins

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Three retirees in Ontario are having a great summer thanks to some recent luck while playing the lottery.

Mother and grandmother Mildred Bernice Cameron of Hepworth, is $250,000 richer after getting the top prize with OLG’s Instant Crossword Deluxe.

Cameron, who has been playing the lottery for about a decade, says she enjoys playing Instant tickets, including Crossword and Bingo.

“I love the anticipation and interactive aspect of these games,” Cameron told the OLG. “When I purchase my tickets, I always like to pick the second one in the display case. Perhaps two is my lucky number!”

The retiree was playing her ticket at home when she discovered she was a major winner.

“I was keeping a tally of the number of words I matched,” she told OLG. “At first, I thought I had revealed 10 words and was like, ‘Cool, I won $25,000!’ Then, I uncovered an eleventh and thought I’d better count again.”

For now, Cameron plans to save her winnings. “My children were both so happy for me and said I deserve this win.”

Kakabeka Falls resident Richard Marshall is enjoying a $100,000 windfall after clinching the Instant 5X Money Multiplier.

The 71-year-old enjoys playing Instant tickets and likes the thrill of new games. He said when he went to the store, he was greeted by an employee who knows him.

“The clerk said, ‘Rick, these are some of our new tickets.’ I decided to buy a few of them,” Marshall told OLG.

He was at home playing his tickets, when he “saw the number 27 matched on the top and bottom of my ticket and set it aside, thinking, ‘Yeah, right!’ Then, I took out my glasses and a magnifying glass to get a closer look. Sure enough, I won! I began to feel so excited.”

Marshall took his ticket to the store to have it validated.

“I handed it to the clerk, saying, ‘I think I won.’ The lottery terminal froze, and he told me, ‘I think you won too!’ We shared a good laugh.”

Marshall plans to save his winnings for now. “I feel nice! I can start doing some things that I couldn’t do before.”

Retired mother and grandmother Lyudmila Lazareva of Bradford grabbed $85,534.20 after winning second prize in the June 22 Lotto 6/49 draw after using a free play ticket for her win.

“It was late evening when I checked my ticket on the OLG app. When I saw the prize amount, I felt my blood pressure start to rise,” Lazareva told OLG.

“My husband was sleeping next to me. Frantic, I woke him up saying, ‘Oh! Mamma Mia!’ over and over again,” she laughed. “I’m overwhelmed and happy. I feel so many emotions at once,” Lyudmila told OLG.

“I plan on sharing this win with my family. They mean the world to me.”