Lotto 649 Free Plays are awarded to players who correctly match two numbers in the Lotto 649 draw. Players who match two numbers and the bonus ball win CAD$5, but lose their Free Play entry.
Marlene and Melvin Dieno used their Free Play for the April 16 draw, but their winning ticket sat and gathered dust for a week before Marlene popped down to their local Co-op store and ran it through their machine.
"I scanned one ticket that won a free ticket, and then I check this one and I thought the machine was broken because it said I won a whole bunch of money," Marlene said.
When a store clerk confirmed her ticket had won a guaranteed CAD$1 million prize she was dumbfounded.
"It’s not every day you get told you’ve won a million dollars," she said.
Marlene and her husband had ongoing agreement that she would ring him straight away in the event of a win, but up until that point she'd never had to place the call.
"This time I did call, and he didn’t believe me," she explained.
When Marlene returned home and handed him the ticket Melvin still had difficulty in believing their good luck and checked the ticket a couple of times before he finally accepted the truth.
"It’s unreal, this doesn’t happen very often in a small town," he said.
The Dienos now plan to build a new home, help out their family, and put some money aside ready for their retirement.
