B.C. residential school survivor won $1M from Lotto 6/49 draw on April Fools' Day

Thelma Florence, a resident of Hope, B.C., won the $1-million guaranteed prize in the Lotto 6/49 draw on April 1, 2023. (BCLC)

On a day normally reserved for pranks, one B.C. resident was seriously shocked to learn her lottery ticket was worth $1 million.

The B.C. Lottery Corporation revealed Wednesday that Thelma Florence, a residential school survivor who lives in Hope, won the guaranteed $1 million prize in the Lotto 6/49 draw on April 1.

“I sent a screenshot of the app into the family group chat and everyone wondered if it was a late April Fools’ Day joke,” Florence told BCLC.

She purchased her ticket at Bee’s Ford Market in Hope, according to the news release.

Florence says she plans to use her winnings to buy a new car in her favourite colour, green, as well as help her grandchildren purchase new vehicles.

The BCLC also noted that Florence, a member of the Chawathil First Nation, is a survivor of the former St. Mary’s Indian Residential School in Mission, B.C.

“She now visits schools in Vancouver and the Fraser Valley to speak about her experiences,” reads the release. “Florence said she will continue to share her story with young people in the region to promote awareness about the residential school system.”

According to the BCLC, Florence won the guaranteed $1 million prize that is awarded in absence of a Gold Ball jackpot win. The odds of winning the guaranteed prize – either the Gold Ball or the guaranteed $1 million – are one out of the total number of tickets sold for that draw.