A Coquitlam woman matched all five numbers in British Columbia’s Daily Grand Draw on Oct. 28 to pick up the second-place prize of $25,000 a year for life.
Tammy Dawn, who is retired, opted for the lump sum of $500,000 instead.
“It would take 20 years in order to get the $500,000,” Dawn told The Tri-City News. “Might as well take the $500,000 now and enjoy it.”
Dawn, who bought her ticket in Surrey, said her family recently sold off her father’s estate, but there wasn’t as much money left over as she thought there would be — certainly not enough to follow through on her plans to buy a home. The half-million dollars has changed that calculation.
“The timing is incredibly perfect,” she said.
Dawn, who was born and raised in Coquitlam, spent her career working in hospice care, helping people through the process of dying and grieving. Now retired, she hopes to use whatever is left over from the purchase of a new home to travel across Canada next spring and summer in an RV. As someone who has never been east of Manitoba, Dawn is fascinated by Quebec and is anxious to explore the Maritimes.
“We live in such a big beautiful country. I’d like to see it and experience it at a leisurely pace,” she said. “Just enjoy.”
