Group of GTA friends 'always hoped' to win the lottery together. Years later, they finally did

Joseph Galluzzo, one of the three friends from the Greater Toronto Area who won a Lotto 6/49 prize together. (OLG)

A group of three friends who had “always hoped” to win the lottery together saw that dream come true after scoring a major Lotto 6/49 prize.

The neighbourhood friends, Stephenton White, of Ajax, Ont., Alrick McLaren, of Whitby, Ont., and Joseph Galluzzo, of Markham, Ont., have been paying the lottery together for the last eight years. White found out they had scored their $1-million prize on OLG’s app.

“Alrick just drove away, and I called him to tell him to come back,” White said.

Once together again, they sent a screenshot of their big win to Galuzzo.

“I thought it was a $1,000 win at first,” Galluzzo said. “I was so excited when I realized it was $1 million! It’s unbelievable news.”

For McLaren, he said it was “special” to win with his two friends.

“We have so much history together,” he said.

“I always hoped to win with these two. They’re good guys and our friendship is real,” White added.

The trio are now planning to use their winnings to invest in property.

The winning ticket for the Nov. 8 draw was bought at Petro Canada on Markham Road in Markham, Ont.