Four fish plant workers from Cape Breton have landed the catch of a lifetime after winning a $1-million prize from Atlantic Lottery.
Marc Touesnard, Shelly Marchand, Leo Peeples and Spencer Green had only been playing the lottery together for two weeks when they discovered they had won the grand prize.
But it’s the win that almost wasn’t.
The group heard a rumour that a winning Lotto 6/49 ticket had been sold in Richmond County so they checked their two tickets together, but the numbers didn’t match.
A few days went by and no winner came forward. Then Peeples remembered the group had three tickets instead of two because they had won a free play.
He found the third ticket, which had been tucked into a compartment in his lunchbox, and checked the numbers – still no match.
“We knew the winning number ended in 112 but this ticket number ended in 275,” he says.
Peeples mentioned it to Green, who had a hunch and checked the third ticket. Sure enough, he discovered that Peeples had checked the Atlantic 49 numbers on the ticket, rather than the Guaranteed Prize number, which was a match.
The group headed to the store to confirm their win and good news travelled fast in the small community. They were greeted with high-fives and hugs when they returned to work at Premium Maintenance in Arichat, N.S.
“Everybody at the plant knew before we even got in the building,” recalls Peeples. “It’s pretty amazing.”
As for what they plan to do with the money, Marchand, who is a newlywed, says she’s planning a trip. Peeples also loves to travel and says a March Break vacation is in his future. Touesnard plans to help out his family, while Green has put a down payment on a piece of land and says the money will come in handy as he plans a wedding.
The winning ticket was sold by Jeantie’s Mini Mart in Arichat. The retailer will receive a one per cent seller’s prize.
