Sarah Barnes of Hay River double- and triple-checked her LOTTO 6/49 ticket when she discovered she had won $1 million.
“I had a few tickets to check, so I started by checking it on the self-checker,” she explained in a release issued by the Western Canada Lottery Corporation on Wednesday.
“I saw a bunch of zeroes, so I took it to the clerk. Then I checked it on the Mobile App when I got back to work – just to be extra sure.”
Barnes selected the numbers 39597325-01 on her winning ticket, which was drawn on November 17, 2018.
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It was a free play ticket, redeemed at Super A Foods in Hay River.
“I think I was in shock the whole time. I really couldn’t believe it. It didn’t – and still doesn’t – feel real.”
She plans to use the money to pay some bills and head back to school to finish her accounting certificate.
Barnes was the third person to purchase a winning $1 million ticket in the territory in 2018.
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On July 13, Bradley and Janice McNeill of Yellowknife were on their way back from Edmonton when they stopped at Fort Providence’s Big River gas station and purchased the first million-dollar ticket of the year.
The second winning ticket from the October 26, 2018 has yet to be claimed.
The winning numbers are 4, 13, 24, 32, 34, 43 and 44; and the lottery corporation warns that the winner only has one year from the draw date to come forward and claim their prize.
