Tina Ferrone's first lottery ticket purchase paid off in a big way.
The 42-year-old mother of three was taken by surprise when the first lottery ticket she ever bought was the sole jackpot-winning ticket from the March 28 Lotto Max draw.
Ferrone and her husband, Liam McGee, both residents of Kanata, Ont., a suburb near Ottawa, claimed the $48 million cheque at OLG headquarters in Toronto on Tuesday afternoon.
"I thought it was $48,000 at first. I couldn't process what was happening," Ferrone, standing beside her husband, told reporters.
Ferrone said she checked her lotto ticket at the self-check kiosk before she asked the cashier to scan it. She asked the cashier to be discreet because she thought she won a lot of money.
At this point, Ferrone had called her husband to meet her at the local drug store where she was checking her ticket.
"The cashier had to get me a chair and some water," Ferrone told reporters, adding she was in tears when her husband arrived.
The win couldn’t have come at a better time for their family. Ferrone's husband has battled cancer for two years and is now in remission.
"I was diagnosed with cancer in January 2012. We've been through chemo and surgeries. It's been a long road. We never expected to get this. The timing is pretty good," McGee said.
The pair said they plan to celebrate with family once they return home to Kanata. Their first priority is to take care of their child's education and to travel.
Ferrone said she plans to eventually use the money to open her own yoga and wellness studio.
