A group of people from Quebec who shared in a life-changing lottery moment met for the first time at the Loto-Québec offices in Montreal on Wednesday morning.
That is because the group, who had never met before, will split the Oct. 9 Lotto 649 Gold Ball draw worth $32 million into five shares worth $6.4 million each.
In Quebec, people are able to purchase their tickets through something called Formule Groupe, which allows people to join a ticket-buying group, with shares ranging from two to 20.
In this instance, there were five shares sold at a gas station in Saint-Clet to six people who mostly reside in the Monteregie area, with one pair splitting their share.
Lyne Beaulieu and Alain Dupuis were the last members of the group to purchase a ticket.
Dupuis told Global News he will stick it out at his job for two more weeks before he and his partner retire and take a vacation to Bora Bora.
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Benoit Laberge, who works as a delivery driver, and his wife will also be heading for early retirement.
Marie-Josée Roy is the lone member of the group from outside the area. She lives in Montreal but would stop at the gas station and buy tickets as she headed to horseback riding lessons.
The remainder of the group who had something extra special to be thankful for includes Louise Lanthier and Jeanne Bouchard Pharand.
Bouchard Pharand says she has been a regular player for years and says her daughters ignored her initially when she shouted for joy after discovering her ticket was a winner.
“I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was just looking at the numbers and I said ‘I am winning something,'” the retired accountant explained. “My daughters were in the living room. They wouldn’t even hear me because if I win $20, I scream, just like if I won $100 million.
“But I realized it and my my daughter took the information on her cell phone and she said, Mom, you won $6 million.”
Bouchard Pharand said she plans to give a majority of her winnings to her three children.
“I’m going to give the major part to my three children and I’m going to keep a little bit for myself, and it’ll probably be for them later on,” she said.
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