Eight lifelong friends, originally from Sarnia, are celebrating a $100,000 lotto win.
The group of eight women, between the ages of 54 and 57, matched six of the seven numbers from the August 11 Lotto Max draw.
Leanne Gelinas said she checked their ticket after hearing someone in Sarnia had won $100,000 with Encore. Initially, she thought a winning ticket had to have all seven numbers correct.
"And so I messaged the girls and said 'I almost crapped my pants, I thought that we had won the Encore, but we were one number off,'" she said. "Well immediately, I Googled the prize list for Encore, and I realized that six out of seven numbers was the $100,000 and it really was us."
Gelinas said the group, which goes by the SMRT Girls, have been friends since their high school days over 45 years ago.
She said they get together a few times a year, they've been playing the lottery as a group since February, and even after their big win, they're still buying tickets.
"As we told the OLG when they came and did the investigation, 'remember our faces because this was our appetizer, and we're going to win the big one next time,'" she said. "So yes, we are continuing to play."
The other seven lucky winners include Connie Ferrera, Heather Mayea, Heather Wilson, Susan Muillins, Melissa Vernier, all from Sarnia, Catherine Marlowe of Camlachie, and Lori Andrews of Kincardine.
"Just the fact that we've all been friends for so long it's so amazing to do this together," said Gelinas.
Each member of the group will take home $12,500 following an enhanced review and validation as well as a 30-day publication period prior to payment.
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*** The group collected the winnings on October 13, as there were no additional claims prior to that date.
The claim fell within OLG's definition of an Insider Win because Melissa's son is an employee of an OLG lottery retailer.
The ticket was purchased at New Rosedale Mini Mart on Rosedale Avenue in Sarnia.