KENTVILLE — Five women working as cooks and waitresses in Kentville, Nova Scotia went into to work yesterday morning only to find out that the lottery ticket they bought together was worth an estimated $15 million.
“A customer came to my house,” says winner Joanne Gillis, ” he said ‘well, would ya like to get married?’ And I looked at him and I said, “Sam it’s twenty after seven this morning what are ya doing knocking at my door? He said, Joanne, you’re $3 million richer.'”
Wafaa Toulnay has owned the Snack Shack with her husband for ten years now.
One of the other waitresses read her the news when she checked the lottery machine that morning.
“She thought that it was $15,0000 at first,” said Toulany, “she goes, ‘no, we got it, $15 million,’ then she froze, and me I was jumping up and down and screaming!”
For most of the winners it means an early retirement and a new house or a vehicle.
But for some of them, the money comes as major sigh of relief
“Her daughter actually called me,” said Gillis’ niece Stacey Melvin.
“She called me and said ‘are you laying down?’ and I said, ‘yeah, I’m still sleeping’ and she said, ‘mom just won the lottery.’ It’s been a rough one for our family so it’s good.”
Now Toulany is looking for a buyer for the Snack Shack and the others are sticking it out with her until new help is hired.
The Atlantic Lottery Commission is still waiting to verify the actual ticket before they proceed with the rigorous investigation that all winners over 10,000 are subject to.
In this case, because the ticket was purchased by the retailer, the process is slightly more intensive, but if the women’s stories checks out it could be the last of their days standing over a greasy stove-top and taking orders.
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