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

For Joe and Lise Menard, from Cache Bay, Ontario, on the north shore of Lake Nipissing in the northern part 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. And also stopping at a store to buy their lottery tickets for the week.

This time, the couple stopped at the Arrowhead Gas Bar in Nipissing First Nation, 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 inside to pay for gas, I asked the attendant to check the tickets,” Joe said. “After seeing they weren’t winners, she asked 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,” he 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 drawing 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’d won $34,000, and I kept telling him to look closely at all those zeros,” she said.

So what’s next for the couple? Joe and Lise met when he took her to their high school prom. Since then, they’ve raised a family and worked hard their whole 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 the best possible care of our children,” an emotional Lise said. “Now my children will be safe—no more worries. Whenever someone needs something, we’ll be there to help.”

They thought they’d only won $34,000

Traveling across Canada, from coast to coast, stopping in the country’s major cities, is a dream they can now fulfill.

“I’ve always wanted to give her a dream house, 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 table so we can all sit together for family meals and gather more during the holidays,” she said. “No more being scattered all over the house—now we’ll all be together.”

A Real Diamond Ring

Joe also enjoys restoring and customizing 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 with a steel nut welded to a large imitation crystal)—a promise he’s been wanting to keep for years.

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

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