“I went to the store to buy some tortilla chips and Valentine’s Day candy for my grandson," says Joan Stevens. "Purchasing the ticket was an afterthought.”
The Abbotsford resident stepped into the Husky gas station on Old Yale Road because the store "has really cool candy," but the spur-of-the-moment decision to also pick up a Black Pearls Scratch & Win ticket changed her life.
Stevens was at home when she realized she won the top $100,000 prize.
“My first thought was that it couldn’t be real! I went right back to the store to validate it,” she recalls.
When Stevens shared the news with her daughter she was in disbelief and thought Stevens was lying.
Now, Steven says, her dreams of retiring by the ocean can now come true. “I’ve always dreamt of retiring and buying my dream home on Vancouver Island if I ever won the lottery.”
