Woman discovers she won lottery jackpot in middle of the night in Canada

A woman found out in the middle of the night that she won a big lottery jackpot, initially thinking the had just won a minor prize.

The Western Canada Lottery Corporation announced in a news release Friday that Alberta resident Dianne Morgan won the $5 million classic jackpot in the May 7 Lotto 6/49 draw.

Morgan, who bought her ticket using the online platform Play Alberta, woke up in the middle of the night and checked her email. It said that she had won a prize.

“I figured it was a free play or $20 or something,” she said.

“Then I checked my Play Alberta account and immediately it popped up that I had won $5 million.”

She said she couldn’t believe it.

“Needless to say, I never fell back asleep,” Morgan said.

The retired travel agent, from St. Albert, now plans to do some travelling herself.

“I’ve been to a lot of countries for work and now I get to play the tourist,” she said, adding that she’s also looking forward to spending time with her family.

That includes taking her granddaughter to Disneyland when she’s older and visiting Europe, where she has family.

“I’m still thinking, ‘Is it real?’” Morgan said.

“When you buy, you dream of all the things you’ll do… and when you win it’s overwhelming.”