It was an egg-stra special Easter weekend for cousins Hoa and Duc Nguyen as they discovered they were $5-million dollars richer after matching all six numbers from the Lotto 6/49 Classic Jackpot draw on April 8, 2023.
The Kelowna residents purchased the ticket from Orchard Park Mall on Harvey Avenue and Hoa found out the news of their win Sunday morning after looking up the winning numbers on PlayNow.com.
“I matched the winning numbers online to the numbers on our ticket and couldn’t believe it,” Hoa recalled. “I thought, ‘Oh my gosh!’ I was speechless.”
Duc and Hoa had pre-planned to go out for breakfast with some family members later that morning, which turned out to be the perfect opportunity to surprise them all with the exciting news.
“They were all freaking out and nobody could finish their breakfast,” Hoa said. “They were all shaking with excitement!”
Both Duc and Hoa enjoy fishing and have plans to purchase a boat with part of their prize. They also look forward to visiting family in Vietnam and plan to surprise them with the news of the win along with a gift of some of their winnings. Hoa will also purchase a home.
In one word, Hoa said the two of them feel “blessed” to win a prize of this size.
In 2022, B.C. lottery players redeemed more than $113 million in winnings from Lotto 6/49.