A group of four friends from Cobourg and the City of Kawartha Lakes went from a chance meeting on a cruise ship to sharing in a $1-million lottery prize five years later.
The OLG reported that they managed to match all seven numbers in the precise order in the Encore draw to claim the Oct. 30 Lotto Max draw top prize. This news comes hot on the heels of another big Lotto Max win.
The group’s members are Mary and Charles Smith of Cobourg and Susan and Glenn Smallwood of the City of Kawartha Lakes. The four first met five years ago on a cruise and have been playing the lottery together for the last year and a half.
“We met in a hotel in Florida and discovered the next day we were all on the same cruise staying three doors down from each other,” Susan recalled, accepting the prize at the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto. “We’ve been friends ever since.”
Smallwood stated that she woke up around 6 a.m. on Nov. 1 and almost immediately noticed an email from the OLG win that brought news of their win. She purchased the winning ticket on the PlayOLG website.
“It was different from the usual winner notifications,” she said. “When I saw $1 million, I thought it was a joke and ran to wake my husband! We were all shaking.”
The Smallwoods shared the momentous news with the Smiths via the FaceTime app.
“They jumped out of bed and couldn’t believe we won, we are all overwhelmed and feeling so many things. What an incredible experience,” Susan stated.
Mrs. Smallwood relayed her husband’s intention to retire and the couple plan to share their windfall with their children and parents.
“Travel is the priority for our group, and this will fund many more international adventures for years to come,” she said.
