Grandmother from Kitchener gets first major lotto win after 35-years of playing

Sixty-eight-year-old Zahida Al-Dabbagh won $250,000 with OLG’s Instant Bingo Multiplier (Courtesy: OLG).

A retired woman from Kitchener will be helping out her family thanks to a big lotto win.

Sixty-eight-year-old Zahida Al-Dabbagh won $250,000 with OLG’s Instant Bingo Multiplier. She first began playing the lottery after moving to Canada in 1990. She told staff at the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto it was her first big win.

“I was so thrilled and happy. My kids didn’t believe it — they thought I was joking,” she said with a laugh. “When they realized I was serious, they were so happy.”

The mother of six and grandmother of 10 said she would use her prize money to help out her family.

The winning ticket was purchased at Ted’s Smokes on Ottawa Street North in Kitchener.