A traditional date night turns into a $34 million lottery prize

An Ontario couple has turned their Friday night tradition into a $34 million lottery jackpot.

For Joe and Lise Menard, of Cache Bay, Ontario, on the north shore of Lake Nipissing in the north of the province, Friday night has always been their weekly date night during their 36 years of marriage.

That tradition usually includes going out to dinner. It also includes stopping at a convenience store to buy their lottery tickets for the week.

On this occasion, the couple stopped at the Arrowhead Gas Bar in the Nipissing First Nation village near North Bay to buy their tickets, and Lise remembered she still had some old lottery tickets in her purse that they hadn't checked.

A classic car on the list

"When I went in to pay for my gas, I asked the attendant to check the tickets," Joe said. “After seeing that they weren't winners, she asked me if I wanted to play them again. I usually buy new tickets using the Quick Pick system, but this time I played the old ones again.”

“When I heard on the news that the LOTTO 6/49 Gold Ball ticket had been sold in Northern Ontario, I had a feeling we had the winning ticket,” she continued. “It wasn't until later that night that Lise checked the tickets on her phone using the OLG [Ontario Lottery and Gaming] app.”

The couple won the $34 million jackpot in the LOTTO 6/49 Gold Ball draw on June 21, 2025.

Lise checked the tickets on her phone using the OLG app later that night and said she “almost had a heart attack.”

Taking Care of the Children

“He kept saying, ‘Joe! Joe! Joe!’ At first, he thought we had won $34,000, and I told him to look closely at all the zeros,” she said.

So what's next for the couple? Joe and Lise met when he took her to her high school prom. Since then, they have raised a family and worked hard all their lives, living simply.

This lottery win puts an end to having to count every penny to make ends meet.

“The most important thing for us was to take care of our children as best we could,” said an excited Lise. “Now my children will be fine—there are no more worries. When someone needs something, we'll be there to help.”

They thought they had only won $34,000

Traveling across Canada, from coast to coast, stopping in the country's major cities, is a dream they will now be able to fulfill.

“I've always wanted to give her a dream home, and now she's going to have it,” Joe said.

Lise says there's something very special she wants for that new house.

“I've always dreamed of having a big dining room table so we can all sit together at family meals and gather more during the holidays,” she said. “No more spreading out all over the house—now we'll all be together.”

A Real Diamond Ring

Joe also enjoys repairing and improving classic cars, and says he's now going to buy a hot rod, something he's wanted since he was 16. He's also going to buy his wife a real diamond ring to replace the fake one she wears, a gag gift for their 15th wedding anniversary (made from a steel nut welded to a large imitation crystal), a promise he's been wanting to keep for years.

The bond of family is at the core of who they are, Lise said.

“Joe’s favorite phrase is ‘What Mom wants, Mom gets.’ Even if we didn’t have much, he’s always given me what I wanted and never backed down,” she said. “He’s my best friend, and always will be.”