Lottery Spokeswoman Shares Winners' Joy
Whenever there is a big Ontario Lottery and Gaming win, the group's spokeswoman, Sarah Kiriliuk, offers her comments and congratulations.
Recently, Kiriliuk was asked what it was like to work as an 'insider' and she spoke about her favorite part of the job - handing the winner his or her massive cheque.
She recalled when she was asked to hand over a $50 million lottery cheque.
"I held a cheque for $50 million in my hand," she said. "When I was holding it, I realized how big lotto winners must feel, that it's just a big piece of papers with numbers on it."
"It's not until the winners go to the bank and see all those zeroes that it really hits them," she said.
The majority of those who win big amounts tell her that the money couldn't have come at a better time. Some of them were recently made unemployed, others were facing medical costs, while others were trying to survive in a hard economy.
One of the most touching wins was by Wendy Mallette, a mother of two who needed to clean houses to make ends meet. The 45 year old found an old lottery ticket only weeks before it expired and was thrilled when she was told it was worth $500. However, when she was later told that it was worth $500,000, she "turned white as a sheet".
OLG Statistics
The OLG recently published the results of a survey showing what big winners (ie. those who took home $1 million or more on the lottery) did with their money.
These are the results::
Put money in the bank - 90%
Paid off debts - 60%
Shared money with friends and/or relatives - 73%
Took a vacation - 53%
Bought a new car - 65%
Donated to charity - 48%
Paid off mortgage - 38%
Bought a house - 36%
Paid for education (self or family) - 31%
Made radical changes to lifestyle - 14%
Purchased a boat - 7%
