4 Colleagues and Spouses Share Record $40.4 Million Jackpot

    This is Ontario's Largest LOTTO 6/49 Win

    TORONTO, Nov. 6 /CNW/ - They've been playing together as a group for 2
years and only buy when the jackpot gets large. To date, the four NAV Canada
colleagues from the finance department have won the odd free ticket and 10
dollars. The LOTTO 6/49 draw for Saturday, November 1 worth $40,441,465.00 was
different.
    When 62 year old Stan Cowan, the group leader diligently checked their
ticket on Monday morning at work over a cup of coffee, he got the shock of a
lifetime. He held the single winning ticket to a record Ontario jackpot. "I
didn't believe we had won, so I rushed to a retailer and checked it at a
self-ticket checker."
    The ticket checker confirmed the win and Stan rushed back to tell 49 year
old Susan Hellyer. She didn't believe it either so back it was to the
retailer. With a second set of eyes, Stan and Susan rushed back to work and
gathered their two other colleagues, 50 year old Nancy Nicholson, and 47 year
old Mark Waters. Then the four did the opposite of a Happy Dance. "We sat
around in stunned disbelief, the reverse effect of a Happy Dance." Not that
the four aren't ecstatic.
    "This feels like Christmas when you believed in Santa Claus," said
Hellyer, the mother of three grown children. "I'm not one hundred percent sure
this is all real, I tell myself it's real, but I'm not there yet," added
Waters.
    Then, the four did what every good finance employee does. They headed to
the accounting department, and called OLG. Plans for the winnings include
paying off debts, retirement for two, sharing with family and friends and
exotic travel to Australia and Antarctica.
    Each share is worth $10,110,366.25. The winning ticket was purchased at
Gateway Newstand on Metcalfe in Ottawa.
    The spouses who are also included in the jackpot winnings are: Bev Cowan,
spouse of Stan, Dave Nicholson, spouse of Nancy, and Blake Sloan, spouse of
Susan.

                         Protecting Lottery Customers

    Over the past 12 months, OLG has taken significant action toward
protecting lottery customers from theft and fraud. To date, the following
safeguards have been put in place:

    -   The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) is now Ontario's
        lottery regulator. Insider and suspicious wins will be investigated
        by OPP officers assigned to the AGCO. All calls regarding potential
        fraud or theft are routed directly to Investigations.

    -   Improved training and procedures for OLG investigations of prize
        claims made by the general public are now in place.

    -   A news release is issued for every lottery winner over $10,000 and
        the information is posted on OLG's corporate website, OLG.ca for
        approximately 30 days. For Insider wins, described as people who have
        a perceived influence over the lottery scheme, and people who sell,
        redeem and distribute lottery products, or family members (spouse,
        children, parents, siblings as well as any other relative not
        described here who resides in the same household) of Insiders, a news
        release is also distributed and posted on the OLG website for
        approximately 30 days and payment of the prize is withheld for that
        30 day period to give anyone with concerns about the win, an
        opportunity to come forward.

    -   Self-Serve Ticket Checkers are available at nearly all lottery
        terminal retailers for customers to check their own on-line tickets.

    -   The lottery terminal 'freezes' when a winning ticket worth $10,000 or
        more is validated. The freeze allows an OLG representative to
        immediately call the store to confirm the win with the retailer and
        the customer by telephone.

    -   Enhancements to the lottery terminal Customer-Facing Display Screens
        include:
        -  Jingles and videos that play for a longer time when a winning
           ticket is validated, and winning/non-winning messages appear in a
           larger print font
        -  all prize amounts up to $1000 appear on the screen
        -  prizes over $1000 but less than $10,000 will display a message
           instructing the winner to obtain their ticket and claim
           verification slip
        -  a new video, jingle and voice-over message plays for winning
           tickets worth $10,000 or more along with a display indicating "BIG
           WINNER".

    -   All on-line tickets are branded along the left side as winning or
        non-winning when validated through the terminal.

    -   Effective January 28, 2008 customers must sign their lottery ticket
        before it can be validated by the retailer. The front of on-line
        tickets includes a signature box and a message further reminding
        customers to sign their tickets.

    -   Public education campaigns to remind people to sign and check their
        tickets and to call our hotline if they had any concerns.

    -   Our Customer Excellence Centre is now open from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. 7
        days a week.

    OLG is a provincial agency responsible for province-wide lottery games and
gaming facilities. Since 1975, OLG lotteries, Casinos, Slots, and Resort
Casinos have generated nearly $26 billion for the benefit of the Province of
Ontario. Gaming proceeds support Ontario's hospitals, amateur sport,
recreational and cultural activities, communities, provincial priority
programs such as health care and education, and local and provincial charities
and non-profit organizations through the Ontario Trillium Foundation.

                       Know your limit, play within it!

             THE ONTARIO PROBLEM GAMBLING HELPLINE 1-888-230-3505
                           Disponible en français



                            LOTTO 6/49 FACT SHEET

    -   At $40,441,465, the November 1, 2008, LOTTO 6/49 jackpot is the
        largest jackpot ever won in Ontario on a single ticket in any lottery
        game.

    -   It is also the fourth largest LOTTO 6/49 jackpot win in Canada on a
        single ticket since the game's inception.

    -   The largest LOTTO 6/49 jackpot was $54,294,712, which was won in
        Western Canada by a group of co-workers from the October 26, 2005
        draw.

    -   The top ten LOTTO 6/49 jackpots won in Ontario on a single ticket are
        as follows:

    ----------------------------------------------------------
    Lotto 6/49      November 1, 2008           $40,441,465.00
    ----------------------------------------------------------
    Lotto 6/49      January 2, 2008            $37,344,184.00
    ----------------------------------------------------------
    Lotto 6/49      June 9, 2007               $37,000,000.00
    ----------------------------------------------------------
    Lotto 6/49      October 1, 2008            $35,363,719.00
    ----------------------------------------------------------
    Lotto 6/49      June 2, 2007               $32,000.000.00
    ----------------------------------------------------------
    Lotto 6/49      June 28, 2008              $32,000,000.00
    ----------------------------------------------------------
    Lotto 6/49      May 30, 2008               $30,000.000.00
    ----------------------------------------------------------
    Lotto 6/49      June 18, 2008              $25,000.000.00
    ----------------------------------------------------------
    Lotto 6/49      January 16, 2008           $24,520,300.00
    ----------------------------------------------------------
    Lotto 6/49      January 30, 2008           $24,226,284.00
    ----------------------------------------------------------

    -   Since LOTTO 6/49 was launched in June 1982, Ontario players have won
        more than $8.5 billion in prizes, including 1,134 jackpot wins.

    For more information contact: OLG Public Affairs (705) 946-6716


    /NOTE TO PHOTO EDITORS: A photo accompanying this release is available on
    the CNW Photo Network and archived at http://photos.newswire.ca.
    Additional archived images are also available on the CNW Photo Archive
    website at http://photos.newswire.ca. Images are free to accredited
    members of the media/

For further information: For photo and more information contact: Prize
Centre Media Line, (416) 391-8055, 20 Dundas St. West, Toronto, ON, M5G 2C2