Ont. man takes wife's advice to buy lotto ticket, ends up winning off cashier's mistake

For one Ontario man, following his wife’s intuition has led him to a $100,000 Encore win through the Lotto 6/49 draw.

Father and business owner Parminder Sidhu only plays the lottery occasionally. It wasn’t until his wife spotted his luck and urged him to purchase a lottery ticket.

“My wife told me to go buy a lottery ticket because I seemed lucky on that day,” said Sidhu while at the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto to pick up his winnings.

His luck continued to transpire throughout the day when the cashier at Sidhu’s at a Shell gas station in Vaughan accidentally added Encore to his ticket. The Encore system allows players to pay an extra $1 as a bonus game to attach to their already purchased ticket for a host game.

“I asked for a Lotto 6/49, and the cashier added Encore accidentally. He was going to fix the error and get me a new ticket, but l decided to keep it.”

Going with the flow paid off for Sidhu when he found out that his lucky ticket had matched the last six out of seven Encore numbers (7715665) in exact order, leading to his win.

Sidhu waited about 10 days before checking his ticket to discover his win. When he found out he had won, he shared the news with his wife — who knew it all along.

“I was counting all the zeros. I was really calm but so happy. It felt like a gift. When I told my wife she said, ‘Yep, I was right! I knew you were lucky!’” said Sidhu.

For the 48-year-old-father the win means he can save for his son’s education, allowing him to graduate debt-free.

Tools to stop gambling

If you're looking to take a break from gambling, self-exclusion programs can be effective tools. See here for resources that are available across Canada.

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