Imagine winning $50-million in a lottery.
Now… imagine losing your ticket.
That’s what happened to Kathryn Jones, from Hamilton, Ont.
In Nov. 2012, Jones bought a Lotto Max lottery ticket from a Shoppers Drug Mart store in Cambridge, near her work.
She didn’t think much about it at the time. In fact, she even misplaced the ticket–she hasn’t seen it since.
That should be the end of the story.
But wait, there’s a twist.
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) tracked Jones down and told her they thought she had bought a winning lottery ticket.
Jones said she didn’t believe it.
But the OLG proved that she was the one who had bought the winning ticket.
How the OLG proved Jones bought the ticket
First, the OLG looked at some video taken at the store. It shows her buying the ticket, just like she said she did.
Then, people at the OLG interviewed her for a long time, asking her a lot of questions about the purchase.
They also took at look at her credit card statement that shows a $16 purchase (the price of the ticket).
Those three things helped verify Jones’s claim.
Wait–there’s another twist. Jones’s sister sells OLG lottery tickets in a store she owns in Ottawa.
That fact triggered another investigation by OLG. They wanted to make sure Jones’s sister hadn’t been involved in some way, since she had access to tickets.
After a review, they say they’re confident of the facts. Jones bought the winning lottery ticket fair and square.
Now all that’s left is to wait 30 more days. If no one comes forward with the winning ticket during those 30 days, Jones will get to take home her $50-million.
She said she is a little bit “in shock” and grateful to the OLG for conducting the investigation and declaring her the winner. She said she feels like she has been “struck by lightning twice.”
Last weekend, Jones told her university-aged children about the big win.
Her son lectured her about being more responsible, she said with a chuckle.
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
By Jonathan Tilly
Writing/Discussion Prompt
Kathryn Jones is one lucky lady, but, as a rule, do you think that the OLG should try to find winners when they don’t claim their prize? Why or why not?
Reading Prompt: Elements of Style
On two occassions, the author of today’s article referred to a twist: “But wait, there’s a twist,” and “Wait–there’s another twist.” Why do you think the author chose to use this phrase thoughout the story? How does it add to her retelling of the story? What does the use of this expression tell you about the author’s style?
Primary
Identify some elements of style, including voice, word choice, and different types of sentences, and explain how they help readers understand texts (OME, Reading: 2.4).
Junior
Identify various elements of style – including word choice and the use of similes, personification, comparative adjectives, and sentences of different types, lengths, and structures – and explain how they help communicate meaning (OME, Reading: 2.4).
Intermediate
Identify various elements of style – including foreshadowing, metaphor, and symbolism – and explain how they help communicate meaning and enhance the effectiveness of texts (OME, Reading: 2.4).
Grammar Feature: Elipses ( … )
But wait… there’s still more. Elipses are punctuation marks that can be used in different ways. One way they can be used is to tell readers that there is a pause in the sentence. It communicates for the reader to stop briefly before continuing to read the remainder of the sentence.
Read the following portion from today’s story. Consider how the ellipses change the way you read? How might this change your understanding?
Imagine winning $50-million in a lottery.
Now… imagine losing your ticket.
