'Mama wants a new fridge with an ice maker,' B.C. winner says of plans for prize from online slots game
A B.C. woman has plans to use some of her recent winnings on a way to beat the heat.
Tricia Jerome won more than $525,000 playing an online slots game, and she already knows where some of the money will go.
"Mama wants a new fridge with an ice maker," she said in a news release issued by the B.C. Lottery Corporation Wednesday.
"I feel like a fridge with an ice maker is perfect for this weather. I've been pulling out my ice trays and it's too much space and a hassle."
Jerome lives in Kamloops, where temperatures have climbed into the mid-40s at times this summer.
She said she also plans to buy a new washing machine and a new dryer, and hopes to take a trip this summer to get away from the wildfire smoke at home.
She won the money playing a slots game called Golden Goddess on PlayNow.com. BCLC said she triggered the second progressive jackpot, which accumulates across Canada.
And she didn't even realize it, at first.
"Honestly, I didn't even know that I won," she recalled to BCLC.
"It came up with a black screen saying I had won the secondary jackpot, but I was asking myself, 'What did I win?' and I didn't understand what was going on."
She called BCLC's customer service line, and even after a representative confirmed her half-a-million-dollar jackpot, the news still hasn't really hit her.
"I've been spaced out all week, and I still don't believe it, but at least now I can stop cleaning," she said.
"I've been cleaning all week just to keep myself busy because I still couldn't believe."
The odds of winning depend on the machine or game, according to GameSense.com, but they always favour the house.
"This means that over time, it's more likely than not that you will walk away with less money than when you started," a post on the website says.
It does not address online slot games specifically, but says that in general, each play is independent and unpredictable, meaning playing longer doesn't improve your odds.
There is no way to improve your chances at winning at most slot machines, the website says. Most are games of chance based on random number generation, and while skill may be a factor in games with an arcade-style element, the random number generator usually determines the amounts available and whether you even get to play the game
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.