Woman dreams of winning lottery before cashing in nearly $7 million ticket

WINNIPEG – A Manitoba woman’s dream has come true by winning nearly $7 million on Lotto 649.

Maria Digel says she played the same numbers for 30 years, and one June 4 those numbers won.

Her picks — 7, 11, 12, 13, 35 and 41 – have a great deal of meaning for her.

They are the ages of her family when they immigrated to Canada decades ago, and the date that they arrived in this country.

She bought a ticket every week at the Real Canadian Superstore, where she gets her groceries.

She says the night before she won $6,986,491.90, she had a dream that she won a million dollars and split it up among her family.

“I always thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to win $100,000, wouldn’t that be wonderful?’” she said.

“I checked it with the girl at the lottery counter, and she said, ‘You’ve won more than 6 million dollars.’ I just felt numb.”

She will do what her dream told her to do and divide her winnings among family members.

“I’ll keep some for emergencies,” she said. “I live a simple life. I don’t need a fancy apartment. I am happy.”