For the third time in five years, the Sunshine Coast has a major 6/49-jackpot winner.
48-year-old Gibsons resident Linda Plows claimed the $3.85 million jackpot at the B.C. Lottery Corporation in Richmond on Friday morning (Oct. 7).
Her ticket was one of two with the right combination of numbers to claim a share of the $7.7 million Wednesday, Oct. 5 jackpot. Plows bought her ticket at the Petro Canada in Gibsons. The other winning ticket was sold in Ontario.
Plows matched all six of her lucky numbers - the same numbers she has played every Wednesday and Saturday for the past 20 years. She did win about $1,200 a few years ago, but winning $3 million is almost too good to be true.
Plows was at work on Thursday morning at the Gibsons Medical Clinic when one of her co-workers said she had heard on the radio that there was a winning ticket in Gibsons from the Oct. 5 jackpot.
"We went about our business and when I had a chance I checked on-line and knew right away that I had won," Plows said. "Everyone, including me, were jumping up and down, cheering and hugging. It was so amazing."After the initial celebration calmed down, Plows called her husband about the news.
"He was working at a camp in Prince George, so it took me a little while to get in touch with him," she recalled. "He had just driven 14 hours to get to Prince George and now he drove back 14 hours, but needless to say he really didn't mind."Plows joined with her husband Dan, their two sons Brad and Trevor, their wives and her four grandchildren on Thursday night in a big celebration.
"We didn't sleep at all - everyone was just too excited," she said. "We then caught the first ferry to get to Richmond this morning (Friday). Now that I'm here and doing interviews and I can see the cheque, it's starting to set in that this is real. It didn't seem real at all on Thursday."Plows said they will likely buy a house with a view and share the winnings with her family.
"We'll certainly have lots to talk about around the Thanksgiving table this weekend," she said. "News has spread really fast. I've been getting lots of calls from friends congratulating us. This is an amazing place where we live."
