Margaret Gooding has been using her own and family members’ birthdays when she plays the lottery and on the BC/49 draw on May, 21, 2022, those meaningful numbers won her the $2-million top prize.
“I’ve been playing those same numbers for 21 years,” recalled Gooding, who resides in Southbank. “Those birthdays are significant to something happy in my life, and to win with those numbers … it’s just another happy moment in my life!”
Gooding, who goes by her middle name, Adele, made a pitstop at Sne Cal Yegh Gas Bar in Burns Lake to fill up when she purchased the winning ticket.
“You have to go inside to pay first and so while I was there, I decided to fill out my lottery slip,” she said.
Gooding was at home on Victoria Day when she checked her numbers. She said she had to call her husband over immediately when she discovered her BC/49 ticket was worth a cool $2 million.
“We were just so happy, hugging each other. I jumped out of my seat, I was so excited.”
Her plans for her big prize are to pay off her mortgage, share the winnings with family and take a “second honeymoon” vacation with her husband to her bucket-list destination of England.
So far in 2022, British Columbians won more than $11 million in BC/49 prizes.