Each received a check for $125,000 from the Ontario 49 win
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Sixteen GTA nurses are celebrating after winning $2 million playing Ontario 49.
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The nurses have worked together for a decade but only started to play the lottery as a group a month before the June 26, 2021 draw win.
“We started playing as a group in hopes of winning a Lotto Max jackpot and then started trying other games too,” Sonia Correia-Batista said, according to an OLG press release.
“One of the group members checked our ticket and saw the number two and a bunch of zeroes and said, ‘I think we won something,’” recalled Sonia. “I said, that’s not something, that’s $2 million.”
After the win, the nurses gathered in the parking lot at work.
“We were all shaking and numb with disbelief,” she said. “There were so many emotions about the win as we all discussed the impact this would have on our lives.
“COVID has been so difficult for us. We’ve all had to push through exhaustion and burnout and this win has been an incredible joy for us all and a great reason to celebrate.”
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Each of the nurses received a check for $125,000. In addition to Correia-Batista of Woodbridge, the winners include Aileen Hernandez of Thornhill, Ana Silva Marques of Bradford, Deepa Chacko of Maple, Fouzieh Khalediyan of Richmond Hill, Ivory Tigley of Richmond Hill, Joris Binoya of Concord, Joyce Preece of Kleinburg, Lidia Alvarado of Woodbridge, Maria Adan-Guillermo of Richmond Hill, Ngoc Minh Kwan of Richmond Hill, Sandra Carruthers of Richmond Hill, Shammonique Barnes of Brampton, Tsering Namgyal of Richmond Hill, Vanessa Phillips of Toronto, and Vicent Nsubunga of Brampton.
“We will all remember this experience for the rest of our lives,” Correia-Batista said.