18-year-old Ontario woman wins $48 million after entering lottery for first time in her life
The young winner, who bought a lottery ticket for the first time in her life "for fun," will continue her studies at university and invest most of her winnings.
An 18-year-old from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, became the youngest winner to hit a jackpot of this size in the history of the Canadian lottery. What's more, she did it with her first ever lottery ticket.
Algoma University biology student Juliette Lamour bought a winning ticket at a convenience store after her grandfather pitched her the idea. "He told me, 'You just turned 18, go buy a lottery ticket, test your luck.' So I did," Lamour told the press.
The girl admits that she had completely forgotten about the ticket she had bought until she learned from the news that the winning ticket had been purchased in her hometown. She was at work when one of her colleagues suggested checking her ticket through a mobile app. That's when the jingle played and "Big Winner" began flashing on her smartphone screen.
"My colleague literally fell to his knees, unable to believe his eyes! He started yelling. In fact, everyone around started yelling. At first I didn't understand what was going on. I couldn't make sense out of it," Lamour explains.
The girl says she plans to invest most of her winnings, but will use some of the money to travel this summer after the school year is over.
