Toronto, ON – New wedding bands is the first thing Clifford and Carol Yantha of Round Lake Centre plan to purchase after winning a $5 million LOTTO 6/49 jackpot (November 25, 2017 draw). “It may sound funny since we’ve been married 47 years, but I lost my wedding ring the first year we were married,” shared Clifford, while at the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto.
Clifford and Carol have been playing the same numbers for 35 years. “Our numbers are mostly birthdays,” explained Carol. “And our usual routine is to check our tickets after church on Sunday, but this time we stayed behind because of a snow storm.”
The next afternoon their son read that someone in the Pembroke area won the $5 million jackpot. “Carol joked that maybe it was us, and continued to tell our son we’d pay all his bills,” laughed Clifford. “Later that day we scanned a few tickets we had. The first and second – not winners. I turned to Clifford with the last ticket and said, ‘Here is our winner!’ When we both saw the words Big Winner and the $5 million prize amount we both just stared at each other and scanned it another five times!”
The couple have many dreams for their windfall. A three-wheeler motorcycle, plenty of trips, home renovations and a chance to restore their 1968 Firebird 400. “But what is most important to us is our family – our children and grandchildren. We will take care of all the bills for our kids. No mortgages, no debt, a stress-free life for all,” they beamed.
“Winning the lottery is surreal and unbelievable. Every time I talk to my kids about it I get teary-eyed. It’s a dream come true to be able to really take care of your children forever,” concluded Clifford.
The winning ticket was purchased at Choices Plus on Pembroke Street in Pembroke.