Bell Island native Leslie Byrne moved back to Newfoundland and Labrador in October from Ontario to be closer to his in-laws and now he’s the latest lottery winner.
Byrne won $294,954, the second prize on the Nov. 25 Lotto 6/49 draw.
“It’s a good omen,” Byrne said in a news release from Atlantic Lottery.
Byrne, a regular lottery player, had bought two tickets: one with his regular numbers, and one with Insta Pik numbers.
“Everything was normal, just felt the same as always,” he said.
When he was checking his tickets, he knew something was different.
“I was sitting at the table checking my numbers, and they kept matching up,” he said. “I got pretty excited, I was shaking. I always play, and I always say ‘It’s a win,’ but this time it really was.”
Byrne’s Insta Pik ticket, with automatically generated numbers, was the big winner, Atlantic Lottery said.
Byrne said he and his wife will use the funds to buy their first home next summer.
Lotto King Kiosk in the Village Mall, St. John’s, sold the winning ticket and will receive a one-per-cent seller’s prize.
