Big lotto win shared by two women from Mississauga and Brampton and six of their best friends
Published July 6, 2023 at 4:47 pm
Erika Kramer was feeling pretty good as she was just about to start her vacation.
Moments later, the Mississauga woman was feeling even better, to say the least, after learning she and seven friends from various parts of the GTA who’ve been playing Lotto Max together as a group for about six years had hit the Maxmillions jackpot in the May 26 draw worth $1 million.
Kramer, the group leader, said she decided to check their ticket on the OLG App just as her vacation was about to begin.
Standing in her kitchen, she scanned it and discovered they’d won big.
“I must have said ‘Oh my God’ a thousand times,” Kramer said while at the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto to pick up the group’s big cheque.
The friends formerly worked together in the automotive industry.
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Other group members are Elizabeth Aihoshi (Brampton), Claire Brennan (Toronto), Domenica Mandarelli (Maple), Janice Tee (Bradford), Patricia Bertoni (Bolton), Terry Wasilishin (Tottenham) and Vicenta Mohajeri (Woodbridge).
The friends say their lotto group has won smaller prizes in the past, but nothing close to this windfall.
“We’d hear about people winning before, but now it was our turn,” said Wasilishin.
Kramer said that immediately after learning of the group’s good fortune, she texted her seven friends to inform them.
“No one believed me, at first,” she said. “Janice called and asked me to double-check the ticket. Then we all did a group call and shared in the excitement.”
Bertoni, who woke everyone in her house screaming with excitement, said she plans to complete some home renovations and take a trip to Italy with her share of the winnings.
Kramer says she’ll buy a new car while Brennan plans to travel, invest and eventually purchase real estate, and Mandarelli is going to travel “in style.”
Other group members said they’ll take some time to think about their plans for the money.
Winning such a prize has been a surreal experience for the group, the friends say.
“It hasn’t really sunk in yet,” said Brennan.
“It’s an exciting feeling,” added Kramer. “We are very grateful, and it feels like a weight has been lifted. We look forward to planning for our futures.”
The friends say they will continue playing as a group and plan to get together to celebrate their windfall.
The winning ticket was purchased at Esso, on Hurontario St. in Mississauga.
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