Home page

Text size

E-mail this page

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
When Linda Roach opened the first stocking of her adult life on Christmas morning, she didn't pay too much attention to the three lottery tickets her son Eugene had included.

Linda Roach shows off the holiday scratch ticket that won her and her family $50,000 last month, along with a slip confirming she is a winner. - photo courtesy of Eugene Roach

"I told him, 'If I win big, it will be half and half,'" she told Yellowknifer over the phone from her home in St. Louis, N.B., on Tuesday.

These words of thanks took on a much greater meeting on Boxing Day once Linda got around to scratching the tickets.

After scratching the first ticket, a "stocking stuffer" purchased at the downtown Extra Foods by Eugene who lives in Yellowknife, Linda initially thought she had lost, which is what she was expecting, because only two items matched.

However, something made her pause and as she looked over the ticket again, it seemed to indicate that she had won the $50,000 prize.

"When I scratched the first ticket, I thought it was like usual - it was a ticket that was going in the garbage. I didn't realize I had won," she said. "For some reason I looked back at the ticket and said, 'I don't know, there might be something wrong there.'"

After reading over the rules on the ticket over again, she alerted her daughter-in-law, Cynthia Roach, of the possible win.

Cynthia checked online to see if there was still a $50,000 prize available for that lottery - and there was.

Still, the pair did not fully believe it was a winning ticket but decided to check it at a lottery sales station straight away. The initial check at a self-serve lottery kiosk, by scanning the bar code on the back of the ticket, yielded no result. However, they brought the ticket to the cash register, where the clerk uncovered the bar code on the front of the ticket and scanned it though the machine. Instantly, lights lit up and the machine played a jingle, declaring that Linda was a "major winner."

"Believe me, I said 'yahoo' much louder than the machine," said Linda.

Eugene told Yellowknifer that he tried to let his mother out of her promise to split the winnings with him.

"She works really hard and really long days," he said, adding that as a worker in a sheet metal factory, his 57-year-old mother spends a long time standing on a concrete floor in sweltering heat while shaping metal.

"I'm happy she won but I didn't hold her to the 50/50 because I knew if she stopped and thought about it and decided to give me $5,000 or a portion of it, I would be grateful."

While Linda had not yet received her winnings by press deadline - she was told to expect a four- to six-week wait before getting a cheque in the mail - she is adamant that her son will get $25,000. It's only fair, she said, because he bought the ticket.

When asked how he would spend his half of the winnings, Eugene just laughed.

"Every single dime is spent already," he said, adding that the money will be used to pay off a line of credit and the outstanding balance on an all-terrain vehicle purchased last summer. "It helps pay a few bills, for sure."

Also, he and Cynthia have promised their 21-year-old daughter, Courtney Northrup, they will send her on a trip of her choice within the next year.

Linda plans to use part of her winnings to renovate her home in New Brunswick. She will also save some of the money to use for future travel, "because I love to travel," she said.

However, in talking about spending the money, Linda said again she still doesn't fully believe she has won." I kind of don't realize it yet, until I have the cheque. Then I'll believe it," she said.

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.