Ont. grandmother gives away yard sale items after discovering $1M lotto ticket stashed in her purse for months
Always worth checking those extra lottery tickets you have lying around.
An Ontario grandmother wasn’t the only one who lucked out after winning big on the lotto recently. People pursuing her yard sale, when she found out the good news, were invited to take all that was left, free of charge.
Karen Redmond from Cameron, Ont., was taking a breather from her lawn sale to check on a lotto ticket she’d kept in her purse for a few months. The 70-year-old, who buys lotto tickets twice a month, had matched all seven Encore numbers — 0368629— in exact order in the March 31, 2023, Lotto Max draw.
Her prize? A cool $1 million.
“When I realized I won, I gave away the rest of the items in my yard sale,” she shared while at the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto to pick up the winning pot.
When she went to validate the ticket at the store, the machine shut down.
“I couldn’t believe it,” she said. “There were a lot of happy tears that day.”
When she got back home, Redmond shared the life-changing news with her partner, who in turn also had a hard time processing it all.
“He said, ‘Are you for real?’ We had to sit down because we were in shock! My family and friends couldn’t be happier for me,” she recalled.
Redmond’s generosity was evident after she gave away her yard sale items, but it didn't stop there. She intends to share her winnings with her children and grandchildren, as well as take a vacation.
"I’ve been excited and sleepless," she said. "I’m still on cloud nine."
Tools to stop gambling
If you're looking to take a break from gambling, self-exclusion programs can be effective tools. See here for resources that are available across Canada.
