ST. JOHN’S (N.L.) – Scott Ennis and Susan Avery​ of St. John’s, N.L. took some time to let their new reality soak in after winning the $5-million Lotto 6/49 Classic Jackpot on the Aug. 26 draw.

“It was surreal at first,” Ennis said. “We were very shocked.”

“We knew it was going to change our lives, but also our daughters’ lives,” Avery added.

Lotto 6/49 draws take place every Wednesday and Saturday with two multi-million jackpots available to be won. The Classic Jackpot is always set at $5 million and the Gold Ball Jackpot starts at $10 million and can grow past $60 million. The Gold Ball Draw guarantees a winning ticket on every draw, with the winner taking home $1 million if a white ball is drawn or the growing Gold Ball Jackpot when a gold ball is drawn.

Ennis and Avery’s ticket matched all six of the Classic Draw numbers for the Aug. 26, 2026 draw, resulting in their $5-million jackpot win.

The morning after the draw started normally for the family, and while Ennis saw he had an email about a prize from Atlantic Lottery, he assumed it was a small win. In the hustle and bustle of getting everyone out the door on time, he didn’t end up checking the prize amount.

“At work, people were mummering about a $5-million prize going in Newfoundland, so I went to my cubicle, took out my phone and found my past tickets folder,” Ennis said. “It started going with confetti and said ‘$5 million,’ and I just sat there, didn’t make a sound. I had a meeting in five minutes, but I knew I couldn’t go to the meeting.”

Ennis let his manager know something personal had come up and headed out to share the news with his wife.

“He texted me and said, ‘Can you come out and meet me in the parking lot?’” Avery said. “When I walked out, I could see his face and he was grinning but was emotion-filled – like his eyes just kind of filled.”

While Ennis and Avery both plan to continue working for now, they say they’ll invest a large portion of their prize money so they can retire in a few years’ time. They also plan to help loved ones, do some home renovations, purchase a new vehicle and plan a nice trip for their entire family.

The couple purchased their winning Lotto 6/49 ticket on alc.ca.

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Media contact:
Lindsay Meekins
Atlantic Lottery Public Relations Strategist
506-431-6466
lindsay.meekins@alc.ca
 

Backgrounder: About Lotto 6/49

• Lotto 6/49 holds draws every Wednesday and Saturday with two multi-million jackpots available to be won.
• Each $3 ticket includes one Classic Draw selection of six numbers players can choose or use Insta Pik to have the numbers selected for them, and a 10-digit computer generated Gold Ball Draw number.
• The Classic Jackpot is always set at $5 million.
• The Gold Ball Jackpot starts at $10 million and can grow past $60 million.
• The Gold Ball draw guarantees a winning ticket on every draw. The winner of the Gold Ball draw will take home either $1 million, or the growing Gold Ball jackpot.
• For $1 each, players can add TAG and Atlantic 49. These add-on games give you additional chances to win and are only available in Atlantic Canada.