Lottery Winner From First Ever Ticket
A young woman wins the lottery after buying her first-ever ticket to mark 18th birthday. The Canadian teenager bought a scratch card and a bottle of champagne.
A Canadian teenager has hit the jackpot after buying her first ever lottery ticket to celebrate her 18th birthday.
Most people are familiar with the excitement of becoming a legal adult – but imagine happily celebrating your 18th birthday only to find out that you’ve essentially become a millionaire.
Charlie Lagarde, who is from Quebec, purchased the scratch ticket alongside a bottle of champagne to celebrate turning 18 on 14 March.
As fate would have it, the ticket wasn’t just significant because it was her first time playing the lotto. Incredibly, it was also significant because it was a winning ticket for the $1 million jackpot.
The winner was offered the choice of a C$1m (£550,000) lump sum or C$1,000 (£550) a week for the rest of her life.
After going to a financial adviser, Ms Lagarde decided to go for the latter option. This is a weekly allowance because it is not taxed.
Patrice Lavoie, a spokesman for the lottery corporation, told the Canadian Press news agency:
“It’s without taxes so it’s equivalent to a salary of more than $100,000 a year,
“It’s a great start in life for that young lady.”
“That was her first lottery ticket ever and she fell upon a winning ticket.”
Furthermore, Ms Lagarde has said she is keen to use the money to travel and to invest in her education.
“I want to study photography. One of my dreams would be to work for National Geographic,” she said.
She was joined by family and friends as she accepted her prize. The ticket was collected at Canadian lottery corporation’s head office in Montreal.
