B.C. lotto player plans retirement of her dreams after winning millions in her last week on the job
A Metro Vancouver woman was just a week away from retirement when she found out she'd become $2 million richer.
Lea Olsen, of Port Coquitlam, managed to match all six numbers in a BC/49 draw last month, qualifying her for the top prize.
In a news release issued by the B.C. Lottery Corporation, Olsen said she can't remember what went through her mind when she found out she'd won.
"I was so excited and just started screaming," she told BCLC. She wasn't home alone, and the screaming was briefly cause for alarm: "My husband thought there was something wrong."
Another family member also misunderstood, at first.
Olsen said she called her daughter to share the news, but wasn't believed.
"I texted her a photo," Olsen said. "She came over right away."
Even Olsen herself felt the win was surreal, saying, "I can't believe this is happening!"
The recent retiree said she plays the lottery with her own numbers – a combination of family birthdates. She plans to treat some of those family members with her winnings.
Additionally, she's planning the retirement of her dreams. Travel is high on her list of priorities, with Europe being the first destination on her bucket list, she told BCLC.
"Now I can be a little more extravagant and travel first class."
According to BCLC, residents of the province have won more than $11 million in BC/49 prizes so far this year. But the likelihood ending up like Olsen isn't high.
The odds of matching all six numbers are one in 13,983,816.
Based on U.S. and Canadian estimates, it's more likely to be struck by lightning.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Former Air Canada employees among suspects identified in gold heist at Pearson Airport: police
Nine people have been arrested in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year, Peel Regional Police said Wednesday.
MPs summon ArriveCan contractor to the House to be admonished in rare parliamentary display
Enacting an extraordinarily rarely used parliamentary power, MPs have summoned an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon to be admonished publicly for failing to answer their questions.
'Enormous sum of money': Actor Hugh Grant settles privacy lawsuit against tabloid
British actor Hugh Grant has settled a lawsuit against the publisher of Rupert Murdoch's tabloid newspaper, The Sun, over claims journalists used private investigators to tap his phone and burgle his house, he said on Wednesday.
Gas prices across Ontario expected to climb to levels not seen since 2022, analyst says
Ontario is going to see a big jump at the pumps later this week as gas prices in the province hit levels not seen in nearly two years, according to one industry analyst.
U.K. plan to phase out smoking for good passes first hurdle
The British government's plan for a landmark smoking ban that aims to stop young people from ever smoking cleared its first hurdle in Parliament on Tuesday despite vocal opposition from within Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservative Party.
O.J. Simpson was chilling with a beer on a couch before Easter, lawyer says. 2 weeks later he was dead
O.J. Simpson's last robust discussion with his longtime lawyer was just before Easter, at the country club home Simpson leased southwest of the Las Vegas Strip. About a week later, on April 5, a doctor said Simpson was 'transitioning.'
Some of the winners and losers in the 2024 federal budget
With a variety of fiscal and policy measures announced in the federal budget, winners include small businesses and fintech companies while losers include the tobacco industry and Canadian pension funds.
Father of boy accused of stabbing 2 Australian clerics saw no signs of extremism, Muslim leader says
The father of a boy accused of stabbing two Christian clerics in Australia saw no signs of his son’s extremism, a Muslim community leader said on Wednesday as police began arresting suspected rioters who besieged a Sydney church demanding revenge.
A wobble reveals the most massive stellar black hole in our galaxy
Astronomers have spotted the most massive known stellar black hole in the Milky Way galaxy after detecting an unusual wobble in space.