‘I’m happy, happy, happy’: Scarborough woman wins $1M Lotto prize on 83rd birthday
Posted June 26, 2025 8:32 am.
Last Updated June 26, 2025 8:35 am.
A Scarborough woman who has been purchasing lottery tickets for more than 40 years has finally seen her dream come true – on her 83rd birthday, no less.
Virginia Zapanta discovered she had won a $1 million MAXMILLIONS prize in the April 25, 2025, Lotto Max draw. The devoted lottery player, who admitted to always using Quick Pick and never skipping a draw, picked up her winning ticket on a whim while shopping at the mall.
“I was on my way out and saw a kiosk, so I stopped to grab a ticket,” Zapanta said during her recent visit to the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto.
Several days later, on her birthday, she had the ticket scanned and was hit with the surprise of a lifetime.
“When I saw the prize amount on the screen, I froze,” she recalled. “My heart started racing as I stood there in shock. I turned to the store clerk and asked, ‘Is this real? This can’t be real!'”
Zapanta, who had never won more than a few Free Plays or the occasional $5, said she was overwhelmed with emotion when the $1 million win was confirmed.
“They started dancing around me,” she said, describing the moment she shared the news with her friends. “They’re all so happy for me.”
The win turned her 83rd birthday into one for the ages.
“This is hands down one of my favourite birthdays ever,” she beamed. “83 is my year.”
Zapanta says she plans to share the windfall with family, pay off her mortgage, and treat herself to a mall shopping spree — a full-circle celebration of where she first bought her lucky ticket.
“This win lets me cross one of the last few things off my bucket list,” she said. “I feel incredibly grateful to be an OLG winner.”
The winning ticket was purchased at the Gateway Lotto Centre in Scarborough.
