Lotto 6/49 Winner In BC Thought She Won $5K At First But She Was Counting The Zeros Wrong

A Lotto winner in B.C. read how much she won wrong at first, and it turns out that she is actually $5 million richer from the December 21, 2022 Lotto 6/49 draw.

Geraldine Ettinger scored the Lotto 6/49 Jackpot after her husband suggested they buy a couple of lottery tickets together, hoping for a sunny vacation.

It looks like they're going on quite the vacation now after Ettinger won $5 million!

The lucky lottery winner found out that she had won while at Save-On-Foods grocery shopping with a friend. The White Rock resident went to validate her ticket at a self-scanner there, and at first, counted zeros wrong.

“At first, I thought I won $5,000 but I was counting the zeroes and then the retailer said, ‘That's $5 million!," she said.

After realizing that the win was much bigger than she originally thought, Ettinger couldn't wait to tell her husband the exciting news. BCLC said she was most excited to tell him and to celebrate together with a champagne toast.

As for what she plans to do with the massive win, she's going to revisit her bucket list. Ettinger said that she wants to take the time to think about what she wants to do — and spend a little extra on her next trip.

"It's unbelievable. I feel very blessed and grateful — my new year's resolution was to have more fun than last year, and I think I will be able to achieve that now," she said.

Ettinger bought the lucky ticket in Surrey from the lottery kiosk in Semiahmoo Mall.