Sorry, Sault. Elliot Lake's the real winner

Back in December, it was announced that a $500,000 winning Lotto Max ticket was sold in Sault Ste. Marie.

Sorry to disappoint, Saultites, but it turns out the winning ticket was actually sold in Elliot Lake.

Six Canadian Tire employees from Elliot Lake will share the $500,000 prize from the December 13, 2013 Lotto Max draw.

A news release issued by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp follows.

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TORONTO - A group of six from Elliot Lake are living their dreams to the max as they won a $500,000 prize in the December 13, 2013 Lotto Max draw.

They shared a $1 million Maxmillions prize with a ticket sold in another province and also won an extra $2 for matching the last number on Encore.

“Our group has been playing together for about two and a half years. We always play when the jackpot is big,” explained Joan, the group leader, while at the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto to claim their prize. “Debra and I found out that we won on Saturday. We had to keep quiet until we could get the whole group together.”

“On Monday, when we were all together, Joan played a joke on the group. She said, ‘An issue happened on the weekend… it’s caused lots of problems… it’s very upsetting… actually, I’m ecstatic! We won half a million dollars!’” shared Debra. “Everyone screamed with excitement!”

The group of Canadian Tire coworkers plans to pay off bills and buy new vehicles with their winnings.

The winning ticket was purchased at Hillside Shop and Save on Hillside Drive in Elliot Lake.

Since its launch in September 2009, Ontario Lotto Max players have won over $1.9 billion in prizes, including 31 jackpot wins and 176 winning Maxmillions tickets from all across the province.

The group members are:

• Joan M. Graham of Elliot Lake
• Debra Denley of Elliot Lake
• Jacqueline Yorke of Elliot Lake
• Julie Rancourt of Elliot Lake
• Lisa Wooff of Elliot Lake
• Susan Derasp of Elliot Lake

OLG is a provincial agency responsible for province-wide lottery games and gaming facilities.

Since 1975, OLG has provided nearly $38 billion to the Province and the people of Ontario.

OLG’s annual payments to the Province have helped support health care; education, research, prevention and treatment of problem gambling; amateur sport through the Quest for Gold program; and local and provincial charities.

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