What was initially thought to be a prank has turned out to be a $1 million windfall for a group of process engineers from Chatham-Kent and Sarnia-Lambton.
Dennis Figueiredo of Wallaceburg, Adam Davidson of Petrolia, Cody Harper and Joshua Roberts of Mooretown, and Lee Coke of Sarnia have been working and playing the lottery together for the last decade and recently won a Maxmillions lottery prize worth $1 million in the April 19 Lotto Max Draw.
“Lee and I were sitting together after our shift when I checked our ticket using the OLG App,” said Figueiredo in a news release. “I saw the Big Winner screen and turned to Lee and said, ‘Check this on your phone.'”
However, Coke was sure his coworker was playing a trick on him.
“I immediately wondered how he managed to get a fake winning ticket,” Coke said. “Everything Dennis said to me felt exactly like what he would say to prank me.”
Roberts was at the grocery store when Figueiredo called to tell him that they had won the million-dollar prize, but like Coke, he didn’t believe the news either.
“I heard him scan the ticket and heard the winning sound but told him to send me a screenshot of the win… Then I suddenly forgot what I was supposed to buy at the grocery store,” Roberts said laughing.
Harper, like the others, thought his coworker was messing with him. Davidson, on the other hand, called back full of excitement.
“All these years of pulling pranks on these guys caught up with me in that moment,” said Figueiredo.
The members of the group said they have many plans for their shares of the winnings, including purchasing a cottage, buying a new truck, planning home renovations, building a new rec room, and saving for their kids’ future.
The group plans to continue playing the lottery together in the hopes of one day winning the “big one.”
The winning ticket was purchased at Taylor Convenience on Dufferin Avenue in Wallaceburg.