$675K winning lotto ticket in a birthday card
Wanda Brooks got 2 Set For Life tickets in a card from her brother — 1 of them won her the jackpot
A woman in Placentia, N.L., got a pretty good birthday gift from her brother — a winning Set For Life ticket in her card.
Wanda Brooks was out to dinner over the weekend with her brother and some friends.
I really and truly thought there was something wrong with it.- Wanda Brooks
When she opened the card, there were two tickets inside.
She scratched them while waiting for food to come out, but when she saw the three identical symbols, she didn't believe it and kept turning the ticket over in her hands.
"Before I said anything to anybody I did that a few times, and then I looked at my friend and I showed her and she said, 'That looks real, Wanda,' and I was like, 'No, it can't be,'" said Brooks.
"I mean, I really and truly thought there was something wrong with it. I didn't believe it, obviously."
She passed the ticket to her brother — Royal Newfoundland Constabulary Const. Geoff Higdon — who wanted to get it checked right away.
"[My brother] said, 'Why don't we go over across the road to the gas station and look at it?' And I said, 'No, I want to eat my supper,'" Brooks said Thursday, at a cheque presentation in Placentia.
"Finally I stood up and I grabbed my purse and I said, 'I'm going over to check this ticket.'"
When they confirmed it was a winner, the next call was to Wanda's partner Craig Brooks — once he picked up the phone.
Well... this is what happened when I gave my sister the winning <a href="https://twitter.com/AL_Lottery?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AL_Lottery</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SetForLife?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SetForLife</a> ticket for her birthday. Big day in Placentia today. <a href="https://t.co/uYjWC4OOM1">pic.twitter.com/uYjWC4OOM1</a>
—@TheNLBobby"I was thinking it was a joke, and then when they actually showed me, I actually answered the FaceTime," he said.
Brooks, a hairdresser, and her partner, a property manager with Blue Sky, opted for the lump sum of $675,000 and said they will first pay off their debt and put money away for their children's education — plus a bit for retirement.
And of course, a cash thank-you gift for her brother.