50 years later, Burlington man cashes in on winning ticket
Published March 1, 2023 at 12:10 pm
Bernardo Di Donato doesn’t know when to quit.
And that’s a good thing.
For 50 years the Burlington resident has played various lotteries but it wasn’t until last November that his winning ticket came in.
Di Donato matched the last six of seven Encore numbers in the exact order in the Nov. 16 Lotto 6/49 draw to capture a $100,000 prize.
“I was grocery shopping with my wife when I decided to check my tickets – when I saw $100,000, I was very excited!” Din Nardo said about ending his half-century winless streak, “I went to find my wife and when I told her, she didn’t believe me and thought I was joking.”
It was no joke as Di Donato explained that for 50 years he has been buying lottery tickets and is happy that it has finally paid off.
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He said when he told his children and grandchildren about the win they were all overjoyed.
“They all congratulated me – little did they know I plan to share this win with them,” he said with a grin while he picked up his prize at the lottery office in Toronto.
In the meantime, before he shares the wealth, Di Donato plans to celebrate over a family dinner.
“Right now, I feel a whole lot of happiness,” he said. Indeed.
The winning ticket was purchased at Classic Newstands on Maple Ave. in Burlington.
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