A Montrealer Almost Tossed Her $1 Million Lottery Ticket In The Trash Before Realizing She Won

Marie Nadège from Montreal is now a newly minted millionaire. However, Marie nearly tossed her $1 million Célébration ticket in the bin before verifying whether she'd won or not.

"She was going to throw her ticket in the garbage," Loto-Québec said. And it's a good thing she didn't! Nadège took home the grand prize on January 8 after being gifted the winning ticket by her son.

Marie, who enjoys playing the Gagnant à vie, went to collect her $4 win. It was then that she asked the store clerk to also check her Célébration 2023 ticket, just in case and boom…million dollar win.

When Nadège shared the news with her husband and son, neither of 'em believed her.

Now, the Montreal millionaire is looking to buy a home. Marie told Loto-Québec that she was already in the market for a home prior to winning. Well, Marie — your budget just got a lot bigger.

The winning Célébration 2023 ticket was purchased from the Galeries des Sources kiosk in Dollard-des-Ormeaux. The retailer will receive a 1% commission of $10,000.

This isn't the first time a lottery winner nearly threw their ticket out. According to Loto Québec, Mélissa from Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean had actually thrown her ticket in the garbage — not realizing it was worth half a million dollars.

"As soon as the retailer finished validating her ticket, Mélissa threw it in the garbage thinking she hadn't won anything. She picked it back up really quickly!" Loto Québec said.

Moral of the story? Check your tickets folks, and check them real good!