In a heartwarming tale of family and fortune, two sisters living thousands of kilometers apart found themselves drawn together by a life-changing lottery win.
Heather Andrews, a resident of Sidney, and Gwen Leeder from Stittsville, Ontario, shared the incredible joy of winning a staggering $5 million prize in the Lotto 6/49 draw on October 21st.
Their extraordinary story serves as a reminder of the unexpected ways that luck can bring loved ones closer.
The story of this cross-country jackpot delightfully began with a slight delay.
When Andrews discovered their monumental win on the west coast of Canada, she had to keep the news to herself for several hours, while her sister was already fast asleep, blissfully unaware of the impending change in her life.
The three-hour time difference between British Columbia and Ontario meant that Andrews had to wait until morning to deliver the amazing news.
“I was at home watching TV and thought I should check my ticket,” recalled Andrews of the moment she realized she had won.
When the long-awaited morning finally arrived, and Andrews shared the life-altering revelation with her sister, the two women were overcome with a sense of disbelief and jubilation.
“I looked at the ticket and checked [online] two or three times and then sent the picture to Gwen and called her [in the morning] — we started laughing.”
While the sisters were eager to celebrate their newfound wealth together, they wisely kept the news relatively hush-hush, sharing their secret only with Leeder’s daughter.
However, it seems that Leeder’s boss may have had an inkling of the good fortune coming her way, as she expressed her excitement by submitting her resignation letter to her employer.
With a multi-million-dollar windfall in their future, the two sisters plans involve exploring the captivating Maritimes together—and they plan to help family and close friends.
When Leeder was asked how it felt to win, she responded with “overwhelming, surreal and fantastic!”
“Our dream was to travel together.”
The ticket was purchased by Andrews at the Pharmasave in Sidney. The sisters wasted no time in claiming their jackpot, making the trip to BCLC’s Vancouver office on Monday, November 6th.
So far in 2023, B.C. lottery players have redeemed more than $100 million in winnings from Lotto 6/49.
Earlier this year, a financial advisor in Sidney won a historic $55 million dollars playing Lotto Max—the biggest jackpot winner in Vancouver Island’s history.
William Scott Gurney purchased his on a whim at a Save-On-Foods customer service desk in Sidney on February 28th while out buying groceries for his family.
