A couple from Calgary proved that the best things in life can sometimes be free when they opted to use up all their free play prizes and bagged the CAD$ 5 million Canada Lotto 649 jackpot on Wednesday, November 5, 2014.
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.
Gerald and Averil Cook cashed in on their free plays at Midtown Market Co-op Centre in Calgary on the day of the draw, but never thought to check their numbers until the following morning when Averil began flicking through the newspaper at the breakfast table.
As soon as Gerald saw the look on his wife's face he knew something big was about to break.
"I've never seen that expression on her face before. She said, 'We’ve won.'" Gerald recalled. "I asked, 'Are you sure?' and she said, 'Yes. We've won!'"
Gerald then went on to have a very busy day. He'd already scheduled a dentist appointment and an interview his mortgage advisor to discuss renewing the financing on his home. He kept both appointments and had every reason to smile when he told his advisor he wouldn’t need the financing after all.
"I said, 'We won the lotto—like the 6/49'," Gerald said. "I was hard to understand, then suddenly it clicked and our adviser started screaming. She was so happy for us!"
Apart from paying off their mortgage, the Cooks say they plan on giving some of their winnings to family members and are looking forward to travelling to southern Europe.
