Two residents of Toronto have won more than $ 44 million on Lotto Max after playing a ticket with family birthdays.
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) said in a statement Tuesday that Elizabeth Lumbo and Arlene Lumbo, former spouses and now best friends, won the lottery on July 20th.
They won a total of $ 44,023,273.40 and each received an equal share of $ 22,011,636.
OLG said Elizabeth started using the numbers on the winning ticket when the pandemic began. They were selected by her daughter, who used the family’s birth dates to find the seven winning numbers.
Elizabeth checked her ticket when she was out running errands.
“I heard the jingle playing on the ticket control, and when I looked at the screen, I told the clerk that there was something wrong with the machine,” she said in the OLG statement.
“I gave him my ticket to scan and he told me I won the jackpot. When I realized we won $ 44 million, tears started running down my cheeks.”
She said her kids did not believe the news at first, so she had to send them a picture of the ticket.
OLG said they are now planning to find a property where Elizabeth, Arlene and their children can live in their own homes, but close to each other.
Elizabeth plans to continue working as a customer service representative for a few more years until retirement and then travel the world once the pandemic is over, OLG said.
She said she plans to continue playing Lotto Max.
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