$5.8M B.C. lotto winner now planning trip with grandkids says she almost didn't buy the ticket
One of the British Columbia's newest multimillionaires hopes to take her grandchildren on vacation after winning a major prize in a draw she almost didn't take part in.
Juanita Parnell, of Prince Rupert, won $5,790,419.90 in a recent Lotto 6/49 draw after matching all six numbers. The jackpot was split between Parnell and another ticketholder, who played the lottery in Ontario.
It was a win that almost didn't happen, she told the B.C. Lottery Corporation.
"I was in a rush. I had actually forgotten and was hurrying to buy (before the deadline for the draw), and was worried I would miss the numbers," she said in a statement issued by BCLC about two weeks later.
But she made it to the cash register in time, and played the same set of numbers she's been playing for two decades – numbers she says don't actually have any significance to her.
Her picks, 7, 18, 19, 38, 42 and 46, were chosen randomly when she first started playing the lottery, and she stuck with them.
"There's no rhyme or reason why… I think I've missed playing them only three times," Parnell said.
She found out she won, but tried to keep it quiet at first. It wasn't easy.
"I'm pretty sure it was 3:30 in the morning and I was still awake," she said of how she reacted to learning she'd won the Oct. 6 draw.
"My daughter had called me earlier and said that someone in Prince Rupert had won the jackpot. She had found out on Facebook. Apparently everyone in Prince Rupert had found out."
Indeed, while no names were revealed, BCLC announced right after the draw that the winning tickets were sold in Prince Rupert and Ottawa.
Parnell wasn't revealed publicly as the B.C. winner until Wednesday, and though she's had some time to think, she's still not sure what she'll do with the bulk of the money.
She does have one plan already: taking her grandchildren to Disney World.
"We've never been able to go on a vacation together all at once," she said, joking that she'd be sure to go outside of storm season, meaning her family won't be hopping on a plane in the immediate future.
Parnell is one of several B.C. lottery winners this year, but the chances of winning any game are extremely low.
BCLC says the odds of matching all six numbers in a Lotto 6/49 draw, as she did, are one in 13,983,816.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
RCMP not investigating possible foreign interference cases related to Chiu, Dong: Duheme
Canada's federal police force is not investigating any possible instances of foreign interference in the cases of former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu and Liberal-turned-Independent MP Han Dong, RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme says.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Air France flight from Paris to Seattle lands in Iqaluit after heat smell in cabin
A plane travelling from Paris to Seattle was forced to make an emergency landing in Iqaluit after there was a heat smell in the cabin during the flight.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games Tuesday following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.
Boy Scouts of America changing name for first time in 114 years, aiming for inclusivity
The Boy Scouts of America is changing its name for the first time in its 114-year history and will become Scouting America. It's a significant shift as the organization emerges from bankruptcy following a flood of sexual abuse claims and seeks to focus on inclusion.
Federal government grants B.C.'s request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces
The federal government is granting British Columbia's request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces, nearly two weeks after the province asked to end its pilot project early over concerns of public drug use.
opinion Tom Mulcair: Trudeau's handling of Poilievre's 'wacko' House turfing a clear sign of Liberal desperation
When Speaker Greg Fergus tossed out Pierre Poilievre from the House last week, "those of us who have experience as parliamentarians simply couldn't believe our eyes," writes former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in his column for CTVNews.ca