Louise Berard was reunited with her lost change purse, which contained a $100,000 winning lottery ticket. (WCLC)
A Winnipeg woman is lucky in more ways than one after being reunited with a lost change purse that contained a winning lottery ticket worth $100,000.
Louise Berard lost her purse — along with the $1.10 in change inside it — back in March while visiting the St. Boniface CUPW post office. The purse, which included an unchecked Western Max lottery ticket, sat in the post office’s lost and found for about six weeks.
While cleaning up in mid-April, postal worker Andre Philippot pulled out the ticket and decided to check it. Upon learning it was worth a $100,000 windfall, his mission quickly turned to finding the rightful owner.
CUPW colleagues Rob Bourbonnier and Gerald Rioux began to figure out a list of possible owners and contacted the Western Canada Lottery Corporation. When Berard eventually returned to the post office, they questioned her about the change purse and when she was able to describe it, they informed her she may be a big winner.
“I started to cry, I couldn’t believe it,” Berard said after learning of her win. “It still chokes me up.”
WCLC investigated and confirmed Berard as the one who purchased the Quick Pick ticket at the Shoppers Drug Mart at 43 Marion Street in Winnipeg. The ticket matched the last six numbers of the March 3 Western Max draw.
Berard plans to use her winnings to fix up her home.
“I’m going to get my little house back in shape. It needs painting, and I don’t feel like doing it myself — I’m 82 years old!”
WCLC is reminding all lottery players to legibly print or sign their legal name on lottery tickets as soon as they’re purchased.
