Marie Martin from Dryden, Ontario, won her $1 million Canada Lotto 6/49 prize in the March 12, drawing.
Martin has been playing Lotto 6/49 since the game began 30 years ago. She discovered her persistence had paid off when she had the ticket validated and saw the words "big winner" displayed on the screen in front of her.
Her first thought was that she'd won $10,000, but she realized she was a few zeroes out when the retailer showed her the validation slip.
Keen to share the good news, Martin asked the retailer to ring her daughter.
"My poor daughter," she said. "When she got the call from the retailer, she thought something was wrong."