GRAVENHURST WOMAN WINS $1M WITH LOTTO 6/49 ENCORE PICK

GRAVENHURST — Christmas came early for Wendy Dwyer, who matched all seven Encore numbers in exact order in the June 14 Lotto Max draw to win $1 million.

“I had accumulated a few tickets and decided to head to the store to check them. I was at the ticket checker when I scanned this ticket. I expected it to be a non-winner, but to my surprise, I had won $1 million,” Dwyer said in an OLG news release this week.

“I was frozen. I must have stood there for five minutes. It’s certainly shocking. I first shared the news with my husband and, like me, he couldn’t believe it.”

Dwyer, a retiree, has been playing the lottery with OLG for decades. When playing LOTTO 6/49, she always chooses the same set of numbers, which are based on significant birthdays.

While she hoped her special numbers would one day lead to a big win, it was a LOTTO 6/49 Free Play – which she added ENCORE to – that brought her to the OLG Prize Centre for the first time.

She has yet to decide what she will do with her winnings.

The winning ticket was purchased at the Your Independent Grocer on First Street North in Gravenhurst.