Whitbourne woman claims $1 million Lotto 6/49 prize after buying her ticket online

News October 25th, 2025

Tracy Winsor of Whitbourne was peeling potatoes when she found out she might be Atlantic Canada’s newest millionaire after her Lotto 6/49 ticket won the $1-million Gold Ball draw.
What started off as a regular Sunday morning preparing a family supper took an unexpected turn when
her husband spotted an article while reading the news.
“I was in the kitchen peeling potatoes and he came across a story saying that someone won $1 million online and asked me if I bought a ticket. I said yes,” she said.
Winsor said her husband usually purchases the couple’s Lotto 6/49 and Lotto Max tickets when he’s at the store, but she will sometimes buy them on alc.ca if he forgets.

“When I logged in and went to the Atlantic Lottery site, it said something about ‘over $10,000.’ Then I was really thinking maybe did win $1 million. When I checked the ticket, I cried.”

The classic jackpot is always set at $5 million and the Gold Ball jackpot starts at $10 million and can grow past $60 million. The Gold Ball draw guarantees a winning ticket on every draw, with the winner taking home $1 million if a white ball is drawn or the growing Gold Ball jackpot when a gold ball is drawn. A white ball was drawn on the Oct. 4 draw, leading to Winsor’s $1-million prize.

“I went to the store and got some champagne,” she said, before the couple told their kids later in the day. “There was a lot of emotions and we were very much excited.”

The timing for the win couldn’t have been better, since the engine in the couple’s truck died just two days before she bought the ticket. Winsor said the prize will help them buy a replacement vehicle before doing some additional shopping.

In the longer-term, Winsor said the prize money will provide her family with an added level of security. “We’ll be debt-free and we can definitely start planning for retirement,” she said. “We have six kids and them and the grandkids are the most important things to us. We’re going to take care of them a little bit.”