A Morinville woman is $100,000 richer after buying a winning lottery ticket at a St. Albert gas station.
Fiona Auger from Morinville picked up the winning ticket at the Shell gas station on Fairview Boulevard at the corner of Sir Winston Churchill Drive.
The prize was from a Set for Life Scratch and Win ticket purchased for $5. According to a release from the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission, Auger bought the ticket along with an ice-cream treat for her young son.
Auger told the commission she didn’t have any cash on her and didn’t want to use her debit card for such a small purchase so she added the ticket to the bill.
Auger planned to use her winnings to do some renovations, update the family vehicles and travel.
Andrea Marantz, a spokesperson with the Western Canadian Lottery Corporation, said the $100,000 win is actually second prize in that scratch and win game.
The top prize is either a $1 million or a $1,000 per week for 25 years.
Marantz said the game is one of the corporation’s most popular.
“There are lots of games that will come and go, but this is one of the most stable games,” she said. “It is a popular scratch and win ticket.”
She said the odds on winning the $100,000 prize are 1 in 280,000.
Carol Westwood, manger of the Shell station, said this is the first big win she can remember her store ever seeing.
“I have done 6/49 a few thousands, but nothing big like that,” she said. “I was just saying to a customer last week that if any of my customers were to ever win big I would be so happy.”
Marantz said the corporation has a winner’s kit that they hand to all large lotto winners with information about how to handle their newfound wealth.
She said it doesn’t provide specific directions, but has information on things like taxes and financial planning.
“It just sort of outlines some of the things that they might want to consider.”
