B.C. woman plans to use $125K lotto prize to replace what she lost in floods
A Merritt woman who recently won $125,000 from a scratch-and-win game plans to use some of the jackpot to replace what she lost when catastrophic flooding hit the city.
According to a news release from the BC Lottery Corporation, Cindy Petroczi was shocked when she realized she won the top prize.
"I decided to treat myself to a ticket and was at the store and thought, ‘Holy crap is this real?'" she told BCLC, adding that the first person she called was her husband.
“I was in tears when I called him. I couldn’t believe it. Then he asked if I needed an escort home.”
In November of 2021, flooding forced the evacuation of the entire city of Merritt. The community of about 7,000 residents was one of the hardest hit by the disaster.
According to BCLC, Petroczi plans to use her winnings to help herself and her family cover the costs of some of what they haven't been able to recover or replace.
"I’m so grateful and thankful! This will be so nice after losing things in the flood,” she told the BCLC, also saying she hopes to put some money toward a vacation.
The odds of winning Treasure Tree's top prize of $125,000 are about one in 250,000.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Western University researchers unlock potential 'cure' for ALS
New research out of London, Ont.'s Western University is shedding light on a potential cure for ALS, in which the targeting of the interaction between two proteins can halt or fully reverse the disease's progression.
What Michael Cohen said on the stand in Trump hush money case
The star prosecution witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial took the stand Monday with testimony that could help shape the outcome of the first criminal case against an American president.
Collapsed Baltimore bridge span comes down with a boom after crews set off chain of explosives
Crews conducted a controlled demolition Monday to break down the largest remaining span of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
Police release 3D images of young child found in an Ontario river two years ago
Police have released a three-dimensional image of a young child whose remains were discovered in the Grand River in Dunnville, Ont. almost two years ago.
Kamala Harris drops F-bomb during White House live-stream
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris used a profanity on Monday while offering advice to young Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders about how to break through barriers.
Behind the barricades: How protesters spend their first days in a new encampment
Students in Montreal describe life in a newly erected encampment in Montreal as a whirlwind of preparations, from facing rain and a potential police crackdown to setting up a space for the exchange of ideas.
Security video caught admitted serial killer disposing of bodies in Winnipeg garbage bins
Security video caught admitted serial killer Jeremy Skibicki on multiple late-night outings, disposing of body parts in nearby garbage bins and dumpsters in the middle of the night.
Next 48 hours will be 'extremely challenging' for B.C. wildfire crews near Fort Nelson: officials
A wildfire burning dangerously close to Fort Nelson, B.C., has grown to more than 50 square kilometres, and officials are warning that the blaze's behaviour is expected to become more volatile over the next 48 hours.
Southern Ont. man charged with attempted murder in Timmins shooting
One of two men wanted for attempted murder in Timmins has been arrested, while a warrant has been issued for a second suspect, who fled police on foot.