Valerie Hoath after winning $500,000 in the lottery.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/BCLC
July 29, 2025 - 10:03 AM
A Vernon woman picked up a lottery ticket and won big while she was doing some shopping.
Valerie Hoath won the $500,000 Extra prize in the Lotto 6/49 July 19 draw, according to a press release from BCLC.
She got the ticket at the Real Canadian Superstore and decided to check if it was a winner when she was shopping at Save-On-Foods.
“I scanned it at the self-scanner. I thought the machine was lying,” she said in the release. “I think I was in shock.”
After the adrenaline wore off she decided to tell her family the news.
“My son said, ‘No way!’ They were in shock too and asked if I was kidding,” she said.
Hoath recently retired and is going to be able to make the most of it after winning the lottery.
“I’m thinking of going to Disneyland, Hawaii or Mexico,” she said. “I’m in shock. It feels unreal.”
The odds of winning the Lotto 6/49 jackpot are one in 14 million.
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