Pulling the 2024 Spring Lottery “dream book” out of her mailbox, Holly says: “I went through it like a kid, oohing and aahing over the prizes – I just had this good feeling.” She purchased six tickets, including 50/50 and July Money, and promptly forgot about it.

The day of the draw, she and husband Eric were heading out to a pinball arcade in Buffalo – a favourite activity. “The phone rang. I never answer, but for some reason, I did. The caller asked if I had my tickets and if this was the number to call if I were a winner. I said ‘yes’ and hung up, figuring it was a courtesy call.” Eric thought otherwise: “I doubt calling every ticket holder is the best use of their time!”

When the phone rang again at the arcade parking lot, Eric was proven right: “Told I’d won $1,000,000, I was shaking, I just couldn’t process it! We played the worst pinball of our lives.” Along with paying off the mortgage, planning a family trip – and adding new pinball machines to their collection – Holly gave ten years’ notice at work: “Retiring at 60 is something I never dreamed of!”

She stresses the impact of playing: “As a funeral director, I see so many families impacted by sudden death due to heart disease and stroke. Research can change that.”