Port Severn woman turns $1 ticket into $100,000 lottery win

NEWS RELEASE
ONTARIO LOTTERY AND GAMING CORPORATION
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TORONTO – Saying “yes” to ENCORE paid off for Stephanie Thompson of Port Severn. Stephanie matched the last six of seven ENCORE numbers in exact order in the July 28, 2020 LOTTO MAX draw to win $100,000!  

A 36-year-old entrepreneur, Stephanie discovered her win while at a retailer one day. “I have a pretty good relationship with the cashier, so I handed her my ticket and asked her to scan it for me while I continued shopping,” she shared, while at the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto to pick up her cheque. “She said, ‘You’d better come back here, it’s a big winner!’ I had no idea how much I won until I saw the validation slip!”  

Stephanie was so excited she started to cry as the other customers in the store came over to congratulate her. “I called my fiancée from the store to tell him, but he didn’t believe me! The store owner yelled, ‘It’s true, it’s true’! Later we celebrated with champagne,” she recalled.  

Stephanie plans to invest most of her winnings and will set some aside so she and her fiancée can travel when they feel it is safe again.  

“This feels really nice, especially having just started my own business. The timing is perfect, and this really sets me up for success,” she concluded.  

OLG is now accepting in-person prize claims by-appointment only for customers with prizes of $1000 or more who wish to claim at the OLG Prize Centre. To best protect customers and staff, OLG has put in place appropriate health and safety protocols in accordance with guidelines from public health officials, which include physical distancing measures, the mandatory use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and the pre-screening of visitors before granting entry. Players should contact the OLG Support Centre at 1-800-387-0098 to discuss available prize claim options or to schedule an appointment.    

ENCORE offers 22 ways to win and can be played in conjunction with most lottery games for an extra $1. There is an ENCORE draw every day.  

The winning ticket was purchased at Waubaushene Truck Stop on Quarry Road in Waubaushene.

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