Hamilton grandmother spins wheel, wins $500,000

A Hamilton woman is $500,000 richer after playing the Bigger Spin instant lottery game from OLG.

Carmela Pacenza, a grandmother from Stoney Creek, won $30 playing the same game, and decided to use part of her winnings to purchase the ticket that won the in-store spin.

“When it landed on Bigger Spin, I asked the clerk what that meant, and she told me I won big, and it was a minimum prize of $500,000,” she shared while at the OLG Prize Centre. “I was shocked. I couldn’t keep a thought in my head. I knew this was going to be life-changing.”

Pacenza said it still didn’t feel real when she got to the Prize Centre to spin the wheel.

“When I saw that it landed on $500,000, I hugged my family and celebrated with them. This whole experience has been fantastic.”

The retiree said she feels free to enjoy her life on her terms now.

“It’s a wash of calm. I feel like I have a bag of money,” Pacenza laughed.

She plans to invest her winnings and enjoy time with her family.

“I’m thinking about a family trip to celebrate together,” she concluded.

The winning ticket was purchased at Fortinos on Upper Centennial in Stoney Creek.

The Bigger Spin instant game is $10 per play and combines popular scratch play with prizes revealed in-store by an animated spinning wheel on the lottery terminal screen. Like Pacenza, players can also win an in-person spin at the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto.