Hamilton woman flips $1 bet into $100,000 Encore win

A $1 last-ditch bet to recoup some money off of a losing lottery ticket turned into a big $100,000 win for a Hamilton woman.

Cheryl Saunders matched six of the last seven Encore numbers in exact order in Lottario's March 6 draw with a ticket bought at Mac's on Limeridge Road East.

But it was tough for Saunders to match anything when she processed the ticket at a Hamilton store, only to be met by a long list of zeroes.

I still didn't realize how much I won," Saunders was quoted as saying in an OLG news release. I put the ticket back in my purse and decided to check it again at home. I checked it with my husband ... and that's when I realized there really was that many zeroes!"

Saunders doesn't yet have a plan on how to spend her new-found fortune.

This win feels good and it's a nice way to end the pandemic," she said.

Sebastian Bron is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach him via email: sbron@thespec.com