A lucky scratch ticket purchase at a smoke shop turned Ivor Needle’s day upside down. The retiree from Barrie matched the top prize in the Instant Bingo Multiplier game, snagging himself $250,000. Needle, a longtime lottery player, said his son inspired him to try the game. “My son often plays this one, so I thought I’d give it a shot,” Needle said while visiting the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto to claim his prize. The win was a shock, Needle admitted, especially since it was only his second time playing the game. His son was with him when they discovered the winning ticket. “At first, he thought I’d won $250,” Needle chuckled. “When we checked the ticket, I realized there were a few more zeroes than that.” Needle called his wife to share the news, adding she was skeptical at first. “She said, ‘You’re pulling my leg,’” he recalled. “I asked my son to pick her up so she could see the ticket for herself.” Needle called winning the lottery a surreal experience. “It’s shocking and overwhelming at first, then you start to feel hyper when you realize you’ve really won,” he said. For Needle, the windfall is a chance to take care of his family’s future, enjoy a well-deserved vacation and maybe even renovate the kitchen. The winning ticket was bought at KFF Smoke and Gift on Essa Road in Barrie for $10.
