Mother and daughter win $500,000 lotto prize

Theresa Worthington and her daughter Alexa thought they were stopping at the store to satisfy a licorice craving, but instead ended up leaving with something sweeter.

The mother-daughter from the Shuswap won $500,000 as a secondary prize on Feb. 8, after matching five numbers from the Daily Grand draw.

“We couldn’t believe it and still don’t really believe it yet,” Theresa said.

From Sorrento and Salmon Arm respectively, Theresa and Alexa are both hospital workers who play the lottery together regularly.

While inside the store, Theresa remembered that she had purchased a ticket with her daughter from Orchard Park Mall in Kelowna. They scanned it together on the self-checker, but the prize amount didn’t show up on the screen. They waited in anticipation while the retailer checked it.

Theresa first shared the news with her husband, who was in disbelief.

“He thought I was lying at first,” she said. “Then he noticed I was shaking really bad so he realized it must be real. To calm down, I decided to bake some cookies for the dogs and then some for us to enjoy with milk to celebrate.”

Theresa and Alexa have their sights set on a trip to Australia once it’s safe to travel again.