Lotto 6/49: Good Samaritan returns wallet with $1M ticket inside
Mario Raimondi of Winnipeg is $1 million richer, and he has a Good Samaritan to thank for it.
After finding out that he won as part of the Gold Ball draw on April 25, he stored his ticket in his wallet. But at some point while Raimondi was out, that wallet, and the $1 million ticket inside, was lost.
That's until he received a little bit more good fortune.
'I was lucky enough that someone found it and returned it to me,' said Raimondi, while claiming his prize with the Western Canada Lottery Corporation (WCLC).
'The ticket was still in my wallet when it was returned!'
The longtime Lotto 6/49 player says he buys tickets for every draw and usually checks his numbers online. His habit of storing tickets in his wallet nearly cost him this time — but instead, it turned into a story of unexpected kindness.
'I'm taking this as a sign to pay it forward and help someone else out,' said Raimondi. 'My prayers have been answered!'
Now that he's officially a millionaire, Raimondi already knows what's first on his shopping list.
'The first thing [on my list] is a new house!' he said.
Raimondi purchased his winning ticket at the Red River Co-op at 1600 Regent Avenue West in Winnipeg. His lucky Gold Ball Draw selection — 27966889-01 — landed on a white ball worth $1 million.
Lotto 6/49 offers players the chance to win two multi-million-dollar jackpots on every $3 play. The Classic Draw offers a $5 million jackpot every Wednesday and Saturday. The Gold Ball draw, however, is a new format introduced in September 2022, and guarantees a winner every time.
It starts at $10 million, and includes 30 balls in the draw: 29 white and 1 gold. Each white ball is worth $1 million, whereas the gold ball represents the lucky jackpot prize. This Gold Ball jackpot continues to grow by $2 million each time a white ball is drawn, until it reaches $68 million with no more white balls remaining — which then guarantees a Gold Ball winner.
If you're looking to take a break from gambling, self-exclusion programs can be effective tools. See here for resources that are available across Canada.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Late Michif language keeper honoured with new stamp
A woman from St. Louis, Sask., credited with sharing her knowledge of her Métis culture and Michif language with generations of students and community members over her life, is being featured on a new stamp. According to Canada Post, Sophie McDougall translated books and other materials into Michif for 20 years while serving as an elder with the Prince Albert Métis Women's Association. Michif is categorized as critically endangered by UNESCO. McDougall, who died in 2023 at the age of 94, also worked with organizations in Prince Albert to document and teach the regional dialect of Michif French. She appeared in the YouTube series Métis Women Stories in her late 80s — and later contributed to the creation of the Learn Michif French app. In 2023, McDougall received the Order of Gabriel Dumont Gold Medal in recognition of her lifetime of service to the Métis of Canada. "She was our storybook," said Angela Rancourt, a Métis educator and friend of McDougall's, in an interview with Canada Post Magazine. "She was a database of all our stories." Recalling the period before the development of the app, Rancourt said they needed to find a way for families to be connected to the language. "It was Sophie who said, 'Get it on the phone, get it on their phones!'" Rancourt said. Another friend of McDougall's, Métis researcher and educator Cindy Gaudet, said McDougall was "our kinship archives." "Everyone would go to Sophie if they needed to know something," Gaudet told Canada Post Magazine. "'Are these people related, how are we related, when did the church get moved, what was going on at that time, when was that event?'" According to Canada Post, McDougall was a descendant of the original settlers of the St. Louis area, approximately 105 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon. Canada Post said the stamp features an illustration of McDougall based on a photo provided by her family. Photos of the St. Louis Parish, and the original St. Louis highway and railway bridge in her hometown, appear in the background. On a commemorative envelope that is also available, the postmark features an illustration of an old schoolhouse bell, in recognition of McDougall's years as a teacher — and the postmark location is St. Louis. Canada Post said its Indigenous Leaders series, launched in 2022, highlights the contributions of Inuit, Métis and First Nations leaders who dedicated their lives to preserving their culture and improving the quality of life of Indigenous peoples in Canada. It said this stamp is one of three Indigenous Leaders stamps that will be issued in time for this year's National Indigenous Peoples Day, which is this Saturday. The set is the fourth in Canada Post's multi-year Indigenous Leaders series. Last Friday, the stamp honouring Julia Haogak Ogina was celebrated in Ulukhaktok, N.W.T. On Thursday, the stamp recognizing Bruce Starlight was celebrated in Tsuut'ina Nation, Alta. Bronwyn Graves, Canada Post's director of stamp services, said it was the Métis National Council that suggested McDougall be honoured. "If you take a look at all of the honourees in this year's stamp series, there's a real focus on language preservation," Graves said. Graves said Canada Post recognizes how important it is to Indigenous communities to preserve their language as a means of preserving their stories and their traditional teachings. Canada Post hears from Canadians all the time who say they research someone featured on commemorative stamps if they aren't familiar with them, she said. Graves said that when the Donald Sutherland stamp came out in 2023, most people knew who he was, but there were a few who didn't, adding that perhaps younger generations learned about the late actor through that stamp. "Likewise, maybe people who are from very different communities, or who don't know their Indigenous history quite as well, may learn a little bit of something through these stamps about not just Sophie's life and contributions, but also the Métis community as a whole," Graves said. The new stamps and collectibles will be available at and select postal outlets across Canada, starting on Friday.
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Yahoo
B.C. Forest Practices Board says forestry changes could reduce wildfire risk
VICTORIA — British Columbia's Forest Practices Board says a two-year investigation has found "outdated rules and unclear responsibility" are stopping forestry from becoming a wildfire prevention tool. The board — an independent body that audits B.C. forest practices — says it examined forestry operations between 2019 and 2022 in areas where communities and forests meet, including the Sea to Sky, Cariboo-Chilcotin and Peace districts. It says fire hazard assessments are a "cornerstone of wildfire risk reduction," and while the industry assessments met 70 per cent of the requirements, fewer than one-quarter were completed on time. The board says municipalities are excluded from the definition of legal interface, a term used for fires burning close to homes, which means logging debris can remain for up to 30 months, even in high-risk areas. The report makes five recommendations to the province that it says would help support "faster fuel cleanup, better co-ordination and more consistent protection for people and communities throughout B.C." The suggestions include encouraging forest operators to actively reduce fire risk, improve co-ordination between government and industry, update legal definitions to add municipalities in the interface, modernize hazard assessment guidelines and incentivize faster logging cleanup. Board chair Keith Atkinson says more than a million B.C. residents live in areas with high or extreme wildfire risk. "Foresters are already active in these spaces. With better rules and incentives, their efforts can become part of the wildfire solution," he says in the release. "This is an opportunity to improve our policies and processes toward proactive, risk-reducing forestry. It starts with better policy and ends with safer, more fire-resilient communities." This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 19, 2025. The Canadian Press
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Yahoo
Dow's Lake swimming isn't as disgusting as you think
Swimming at Dow's Lake is not for the squeamish. Although authorities insist the water quality is fine, anyone who's been in Ottawa for a few freeze-thaw cycles has seen the crap on the bottom when the water is drained from the Rideau Canal. After the skateway season ends and the ice melts, those fancy change huts aren't the only things left behind. There's usually a fair amount of litter, too, which means the canal bed is not a pretty sight in spring. Plus it smells like a swamp, which is not surprising. Two hundred years ago, before the Canal was built, Dow's Lake was known as the Great Swamp. At some point a dam was constructed, flooding the area and creating a small man-made lake that was named after a local landowner, Abram Dow. And there I was just a few weeks after the thaw of 2025, preparing to take a swim in it. I'll admit my first reaction to the notion of swimming at Dow's Lake was something close to revulsion. 'Ugh,' I thought, not only remembering the slimy debris along the sides of the canal that leads to it but also countless tales of the monster muskie that supposedly inhabit its depths. Still, as a committed amateur swimmer, I loved the idea of adding another entry to the list of wild-swimming spots in Ottawa-Gatineau — especially when it's one that people can ride their bicycles to. To quell my doubts as to the quality of the water, I emailed the National Capital Commission, the federal agency that came up with the idea to put a dock at Dow's after the huge success of the 2023 re-opening of River House. The NCC's River House is the heritage boathouse situated along a wide stretch of the Ottawa River east of Rideau Falls. Following a years-long, $15-million-dollar renovation, it was fully restored, adding floating docks and a swimming area in the river. I have done my laps there several times, and it's amazing to feel the wind, waves and current of the mighty river. The folks at Ottawa Riverkeeper test the water quality at River House three times a week, while at Dow's Lake, they test five times a week. The samples are processed at the Riverkeeper's in-house lab, but it takes a minimum of 24 hours for lab results to be available. That 24-hour delay is only a problem when it rains because water that tested fine yesterday may not be e. coli-free today. If there was a big dump of precipitation overnight, it could wash sewage and/or goose poop into the waterways, spiking the e-coli levels. Just to be sure, I don't swim outdoors in the city after a significant amount of rain, no matter what the testing says. As for the host of other chemicals that could be washed from the parkway into the lake, NCC spokesperson Benoît Desjardins sent along this information: 'The NCC has conducted extensive water testing for more than 140 parameters, including E. coli, metals, pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and petroleum hydrocarbons. To date, these tests have shown concentrations below detection limits or below human health thresholds, consistent with other swim sites.' 'Okay, I'll do it,' I vowed to myself. The next step was to plan the logistics. The Dow's Lake swimming dock is open daily from sunrise to sunset, and it's free. However, it's unsupervised and lacking amenities, with no changing area, washroom, snack bar, parking or even lane-markers in the water. At least it has the basics covered, sporting cheerful red Muskoka chairs on the dock, sturdy ladders to get out of the lake and a bicycle rack nearby. I wore my swimsuit under my clothes to make it easy, then drove against the rush-hour traffic and found a parking spot on a quiet side street west of Bronson Avenue. Toting my towel, goggles and pink swim cap, I walked the short distance to the dock, admiring the flower beds along the way. The dock is located on a deep part of the lake, at least four metres (or 13 feet) to the bottom. I far prefer swimming in deep water, partly because your toes can't feel the weeds, stumps or car parts that may be down there, and you aren't likely to bump into a muskellunge in wait for its prey. The temperature of the water was refreshing but far from frigid, and I bet it will warm up quickly in hot weather. Instead of diving into the unknown waters, I pushed off from the ladder, put my face down and pulled a few front-crawl strokes. Despite my prescription swim goggles, I saw absolutely nothing in the murky depths except sunlight reflecting off the particles of sand clouding the water. I had the 'pool' to myself most of my time there. While I swam a dozen or so laps, haphazardly as there are no lane markers, a handful of student-aged exercisers stopped to take a quick plunge, while others simply relaxed in the red chairs. From the corner of one eye, I spotted an extended family of geese, with goslings, minding their own business on the shore a stone's throw from the dock. I also saw a fleet of after-work paddleboarders on the horizon, making their way across the wind-rippled lake. Floating on my back, I watched fluffy white clouds decorate a bright blue sky. Here's what I didn't do: I tried to avoid getting water in my mouth. I did not attempt to propel myself downward to touch the bottom. I stayed within the boundaries of the roped-off zone. I didn't open my eyes underwater without goggles, and most importantly, I didn't let my imagination take over in conjuring a menace lurking below. Afterwards, I felt great and paused to share my elation with a young woman in an NCC shirt who had been sitting near the dock all afternoon. She was a Carleton University student whose summer job is to serve as an 'ambassador' at the swimming dock. Neither security guard nor lifeguard, she was there to answer questions from the public and take their suggestions, in both official languages. 'What's the most popular question?' I inquired. 'Water quality,' she replied without hesitation, outlining the frequency of the testing and the contaminants being tested like she had done it a million times before. She also let me know about the licensed, pop-up bistro that's coming soon to the area. I jokingly observed that it's not quite close enough to be a swim-up bar, a detail that can only help the water quality. But seriously. For strong swimmers, I would score the Dow's Lake dock higher than Westboro, Britannia and Mooney's Bay beaches, largely because of the depth, but not as high as River House, which has change rooms, lockers and showers. Speaking of showers, I wasted no time in proceeding directly to one. While I didn't think the water of Dow's Lake left me smelling like a turtle, it seemed prudent to treat myself to some hot water and soap after being immersed in the former Great Swamp. lsaxberg@ For more smart picks and offbeat stories from around the city, subscribe to Out of Office, our weekly newsletter on local arts, food and things to do.
