Two lucky Torontonians are celebrating after winning big with scratch lottery tickets.
Frederick De Los Rios, who recently won $100 in the lottery, says he cashed in his ticket and decided to buy another one called Instant Crossword Extreme.
“I was playing my ticket when I noticed all the words I had revealed and thought, ‘Wow!’ I scanned it on the OLG app and saw that I had won $100,000!” De Los Rios said while visiting the Ontario Lottery and Gaming (OLG) prize centre in Toronto to pick up his winnings. “I was so thankful, happy, and excited!”
De Los Rios shared the good news with his wife. “She didn’t believe me! As a matter of fact, she still doesn’t. She’s in for a surprise today!”
He plans to pay off some bills and take care of his student loans. “I will also share some with my kids and will treat my wife to a designer bag or a nice vacation,” he said.
Instant Crossword Extreme tickets are $30 with a top prize of $350,000.
The winning ticket was purchased at One More Convenience on Howard Street.
Meanwhile, Dawn Simms, a Toronto retiree, won the $50,000 top prize with a $3 Instant Bingo ticket.
“I was playing my ticket and realized I only needed one more number on my Bingo card to reveal the box — then, I got it!” Simms told staff at the OLG prize centre.
“I couldn’t believe it! To be sure it was real, I went to the store and used the ticket checker. When I saw the prize amount on the screen, I took a deep breath and whispered to myself, ‘I really won!’”
“I shared the good news with my sister first. When I told her I had won $50,000, she was pleasantly surprised and [was] very happy for me,” Simms said.
She plans to save her winnings and is also thinking of arranging a well-deserved vacation.
Her winning ticket was purchased at Corner Convenience Store on Parliament Street.
