Everyday, thousands of people play the lottery in hopes that they might win money and change their lives. To increase their chances of winning, people may sometimes play in a pool and split the cash if they're lucky.
Just last week, Canada's Lotto Max winning numbers were announced, leaving lottery winners in the country furiously scrambling to check their lottery numbers. Far away from the mainland, in the far-off province of Newfoundland, dozens of people from a tiny iron working community woke up on Saturday morning to find that their lives were never going to be the same again.
A Tiny Community Changed Forever
The first man in the pool, Eugene, spoke of how he checked his ticket at 4 am and, not believing what he was seeing, called other members of the pools to confirm he was not hallucinating.
When her husband woke her up early in the morning, the lottery ticket was the last thing on Sherry's mind. "I had a deja vu," she said, her eyes tearing up. "It was like this had happened before." When her husband told her to check the tickets, she realized, after reading out the numbers, that she was holding a $60 million key to a better future.
Sherry then had to call 29 other pool members (the 30th pool member is her husband). Most of her friends did not believe her when they were told they had won the jackpot.
"We were told silly things like 'Are you drinking?' and 'Is there something wrong with you?'" Once they all checked their numbers, they called back and started to properly celebrate.
Big Plans For Lots of Cash
In all, the 31 members of the pool each won $1,457,456.25. The members include a husband and wife, a father and son and identical twin brother. One share is in dispute over the addition of another group member.
The best part is, under Canada's rules these winners will not be taxed for the millions they are receiving. The mayor of the town, Avondale, said most of the winners were from his small community. With several working at the Come by Chance oil refinery, they were used to a tough life.
"It couldn't happen to a better bunch of hardworking people."
Asked about how they were going to spend their winnings, some spoke of getting new cars whilst others said they were going to spend the money on their children.
One woman though was completely honest about her plans to share her millions. "I'm not giving no one nothing," she said.