Community News

'I HAD TO COUNT ALL THE ZEROES'

Three Durham residents are among the four people who will split a $2-million lottery prize.

Gail Simon of Nestleton, Port Perry's Bradley Hale and Lorna Horner of Uxbridge, as well as Shirley Heppell of Holland Landing, won the Ontario 49 top prize worth $2 million in the Aug. 20 draw.

The group of four coworkers have been playing the lottery together for a couple of months.

"I was checking the ticket and saw we matched three numbers, so I thought we won $10 at first. When the matching numbers kept coming up, I was shocked," said Simon while at the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto to collect their big win. "I checked using the OLG app, and I thought it was broken."

The first person Simon called to share the windfall news was Horner.

"I thought she was having a health crisis, because she said she had pains in her chest," Horner recalled. "Then she told me we won. I couldn't believe it."

Added Heppell, "I received a photo of the ticket while I was at work. I had to count all the zeroes. I had butterflies in my stomach."

The foursome have various plans for their winnings, including investing, home renovations and purchasing a new car.

"It's the most amazing thing you'll ever experience. It's life-changing," said Horner. The winning ticket was purchased at Petro-canada on Scugog Street in Port Perry.

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2022-09-29T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-09-29T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://communitynews.pressreader.com/article/281517934998656

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