One Canadian woman had a pretty big decision to make after celebrating a surprising lottery win.
Friday the 13th might generally be believed to be an unlucky day, but not for New Brunswick nurse Mariette Cleven. She had purchased and scratched a $4 Set for Life ticket on December 13, 2024, and was shocked to discover she was a winner.
“That night, I was talking to my brother on the phone, scratching the tickets I had bought, and he told me he never wins anything more than a couple of dollars when he buys tickets,” she recalled. “I barely got off the phone with him, and there it was: Set for Life.”
She immediately shared a photo of her winning ticket with her daughter and brother. Her prize was $1,000 a week for 25 years or a lump sum payment of $675,000. Cleven chose the lump sum payment.
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While at the Atlantic Lottery Corporation to claim her cheque, Cleven admitted she was still feeling “a little overwhelmed.”
“We never really had much, so I’ve been feeling overwhelmed thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, all this money is going to be coming in,’” she shared.
Now $675,000 richer, she said she’ll pay for her son’s education — he plans to attend school in the fall. She’ll also be paying for her daughter to attend medical school. To celebrate, she’s taking a trip to the Magdalen Islands, Iceland, and the Netherlands to visit family. She said she still plans to work, but her windfall will allow her to retire sooner than planned.
“I was a single parent for a really long time, and things were rough for a long time,” said Cleven. “The first half of my life I thought was hard, but the next half is going to be really good.”
Cleven purchased her winning Set for Life ticket at the Oromocto Plaza Lotto Booth in Oromocto, New Brunswick. The seller will receive a one percent seller’s prize.
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