Skip to content

She’s using her lottery cash to buy a wedding dress

We all know weddings can be expensive. Michele Zaharia no longer has to worry about paying for hers. She and fiancé Mark Langton said ‘Yes’ to the Extra — and each other — and won $500,000 playing Lotto Max.
lottery wedding dress
Michele Zaharia and fiancé Mark Langton said ‘Yes’ to the Extra — and each other — and won $500,000 playing Lotto Max. Contributed photo

We all know weddings can be expensive.

Michele Zaharia no longer has to worry about paying for hers.

She and fiancé Mark Langton said ‘Yes’ to the Extra — and each other — and won $500,000 playing Lotto Max.

The lucky players matched all four Extra numbers in the December 31, 2019 Lotto Max draw, giving them several more reasons to celebrate when they say ‘Yes’ to each other at their upcoming summer wedding.

Zaharia, who purchased the ticket at a Walmart on Vancouver Island, was getting a new phone when she decided to check her ticket results on the BCLC Lotto! App.

“My volume was turned off and [Mark and I] checked it three or four times,” said Zaharia, who took a screen capture of the winning-ticket message for a keepsake. “Shock is the best way to describe it.”

Langton had to travel for work shortly after the draw, so the couple have had some time to digest its big win. Top of the bucket list items are paying down the mortgage, buying a wedding dress and perhaps retiring a few years earlier than expected.