21-year old Hamilton Student Wins $3.5 Million Jackpot

TORONTO, Aug. 29, 2011 /CNW/ - For Hamilton resident Kricket Slik, this past Sunday started out as a typical weekend day, with the 21-year old student relaxing at home and running errands. By days end, Slik had discovered that she was a multi-millionaire. A lottery ticket she bought on a whim turned out to be the winning ticket for the Saturday, August 27^th $3.5 million LOTTO 6/49 jackpot.

"I don't play very often, so buying this ticket was sort of random. I happened to be at a convenience store with a friend, and decided to buy one. If my friend hadn't been visiting me and needed to go to the store, I wouldn't have bought a ticket," explained Slik.

The next day, Slik stopped at Shoppers Drug Mart to check her ticket and couldn't believe her eyes.

"I checked the ticket on the self scanner quite a few times and then went over to my boyfriend's house to check on OLG.ca and confirm that I had a match for all six numbers," said Slik. "That's when the reality hit me, that I had a winning ticket for the jackpot."

Slik is currently studying aesthetics in Hamilton, and says this win will definitely change her life.

"My first reaction, when I realized that I had won, was that this is going to help my family out so much," said Slik, who is the oldest of six brothers and sisters.

"I'm also going to continue my studies, and afterwards, the dream of opening my own salon can actually become a reality. I also plan on doing some travelling in the next year or so."

The winning ticket was bought at JJ's Variety on John Street in Hamilton.