Tammy Manning from McBride won the $13 million Lotto Max prize and the draw date is going to get inked on her arm by her son, the tattoo artist, as a part of the celebration.
“I told my son I won while he was in the middle of doing a tattoo,” Manning recalled. “He said ‘there’s no way mom – no you didn’t!’”
Manning purchased the ticket from McBride Husky/Esso in a $20 Lotto Max pack and got her numbers using the Quick Pick option.
It was the only ticket across Canada to match all seven numbers during the mid-March draw.
“I went to the Husky that I always go to and the retailer knows who I am," Manning said. "I checked the ticket on the self-checker and suddenly the amount appeared across the screen. All I said was ‘No!’ I just didn’t believe it and kept saying ‘No!’ to myself. I had to have the retailer check the ticket on his machine.”
Amber Bhaskar, the lottery retailer at the McBride Husky/Esso, was there when she scanned her winning ticket.
“When Tammy validated her ticket… she was about to fall down,” Bhaskar said about the day he and his staff realized Manning had purchased the jackpot-winning ticket at his store.
“She’s a loyal customer since we moved here – it’s really happy to see somebody winning from the local town.”
Manning will pay off her house first, then it might be a vacation home in the Caribbean next with a sailboat, too. She also plans to gift some to family, the part of winning that means the most to her.
“It feels so good that I’m able to help and do something good with it,” she added. “This will change my life and it means I can retire and can help those close to me.”
