B.C.'s newest multimillionaire plans to build dream homes for her whole family
This photo provided by the BC Lottery Corporation shows the winner of a $35-million jackpot who purchased her ticket in Kamloops.
A Kamloops woman who won a $35-million Lotto Max jackpot picked up the ticket while shopping for beach towels at Walmart, according to the BC Lottery Corporation.
Rhonda Malesku came forward to claim her prize Thursday and described what it felt like to learn of her "life-changing" win – and shared some of her plans for what she will do with the money.
She told the BCLC that she was at home when she realized she'd won and that she immediately – and loudly – shared the news with her husband who was out in the yard.
"I opened up the back door and started screaming it outside to my husband Sam and we both started shaking," she says in a press release from the lottery corporation.
"I was shouting so loud with excitement that the neighbors came out of their houses because they thought something was wrong.”
Next, she called her daughter and more screaming ensued.
Malesku told the BCLC she has always dreamed of designing and building a home for herself and that this win will let her do that, as well as do the same for her two kids. Other plans for the money include buying a travel trailer and hitting the road for the East Coast.
"I’m just absolutely blown away,” she said.
The total Lotto Max prize up for grabs on Tuesday was $70 million but a player from Alberta also matched all seven numbers, so it was split in half.
The odds of winning a Lotto Max jackpot are 1 in 33,294,800 per $5 play, according to the BC Lottery Corporation.
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