One lucky lottery player is a step closer to her dream after a big win: to build a home and retire on an inherited plot of land.
Tanya Skelhorn lives in Prospect Bay, Nova Scotia, where she works as a high school vice principal. In August, the Lotto Max jackpot reached the game’s maximum limit of $70 million, so she decided to purchase a ticket at a Sobey’s supermarket in Halifax. She added that she’d been buying extra lottery tickets ever since the top prize reached $70 million.
After the August 13 draw, she decided to get her ticket validated. It also happened that one of Skelhorn’s recent graduates was working at the store. The former student validated her ticket and confirmed that she was a winner.
“It was special to be able to share that moment in my community,” she said. “I had goose pimples all up my arms. Everybody that worked there came up.”
Skelhorn had matched the Maxmillions winning numbers 13, 20, 26, 29, 30, 33, and 35 and split the $1 million prize with another ticket sold in Edmonton — she was now $500,000 richer.
While at the prize centre to claim her big cheque, she shared that she had inherited a rural plot of land in New Brunswick several years ago. Since then, she always wanted to build a ranch-style house there and eventually retire.
“I do dream big. I’ve been dreaming for a while,” said Skelhorn. “I have the family land and so I’m looking to put my dream home there, retire in seven years, and move back to my home province of New Brunswick.”
She said that the land means a lot to the family.
“Just knowing that my dad passed it on to me with the full expectation it wouldn’t be sold and that I could live there. It makes me happy that I can do that now,” she said. “I can make it happen, and that’s exciting.”
Skelhorn plans to use her winnings to pay for her youngest daughter’s university tuition and her oldest daughter’s student loans.
“It’s really just about being financially stable,” she stated. “Winning the lottery is never something that you can expect. It is great to dream and hopefully work hard to make those dreams come true, but having this little extra bonus has been exciting.”
After she discovered she had won, she started planning a trip to New Brunswick.
“I was going home to meet family outside Moncton and my mom in Fredericton, and I had family flying in from Ontario,” she said.
One of them is a cousin who works as a financial planner.
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“I said, ‘I need to ask you some advice on some money,’ so she’s going to help me out with that,” said Skelhorn.
The winning Lotto Max ticket was purchased at the Lacewood Drive Sobeys in Halifax. The retailer will receive a one percent seller’s prize.
All forms of gambling, including the lottery, involve risk and outcomes are based on chance. Individuals are strongly advised to gamble responsibly. If you are experiencing any signs of gambling-related issues, you can find resources here.