Family of Eight Takes Stretch Limo To Collect Their $12 Million Canada Lotto 649 Jackpot

This family of eight won Saturday's $12 million jackpot in Canada's 649 lottery.

What do you do when you're a large family, and you all want to go collect a lottery prize together?

You order a stretch limosine and travel there in style. That's what a family of eight from Roseneath, 50 kilometres southeast of Peterborough, Ontario, did to claim their $12,371,981.20 prize.

Their prize was one of the two winning tickets in last Saturday's Lotto 649 draw.

The group took the limo to pick up their prize on Thursday from the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Prize Centre in Toronto.

The lucky winners are: Carl Bevan, Beverley (Bev) McBride, Amber and Christopher Coupland, Amy and Christopher Heales, Ashley and Luke Bevan.

The winning ticket was purchased at The Red Barn Country Market on Lonsberry Road in Roseneath.

Speaking over the phone from the OLG prize office, Carl and Beverley Bevan explained how they went to the Red Barn outlet in Roseneath Sunday morning to check the ticket.

They used the same numbers they have played for the past four years, and discovered then they were big winners.

“It was hard to believe. Surreal,” Beverley Bevan told Postmedia Network's Valerie MacDonald. “We’ve not had much sleep since."

The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Prize Centre in Toronto where winners collected their prizes.

It was Sunday morning when Carl and his wife Beverley followed their usual routine.

“Bev and I always go for breakfast and then after, we head to the store and check our tickets. And like every other week, we walked into the store, fully expecting nothing more than a Free Play. That’s when all hell broke loose,” Carl stated.

“The terminal froze and I saw the words, ‘Big Winner’ flash on the screen. I had no clue what that meant. The retailer said, ‘It’s a big win, more than $1,000.’”

As Carl and Bev waited for OLG to call the store and confirm their win, Carl walked over to the ticket checker and scanned his ticket.

“I saw lots of numbers with a 12 at the start. It looked like $12,000. I quickly pulled the ticket back and returned to the retailer to take the call from OLG.”

A validation slip was printed for Carl indicating the amount the group had won. “Bev and I both stared at the ticket. While I was silent, she started to cry. We took off to share the good news with our kids right away - two daughters and one son, and of course, their spouses.”

Within an hour, the family gathered at Carl and Bev’s home.

“That’s when the party began - beverages, lots of crying and dreaming and planning and imagining what we will do with this great windfall. And lots of disbelief as well,” Carl states.

“It is so true that life can change in a heartbeat and in the most incredible way," Bev added. "I just retired last week. The timing around all this is still hard to believe.”

Each member of the group has individual plans for their share but there will also be one big family vacation.

“Can you imagine this group taking over Disney World? That is one of our fun plans – to get everyone together and take this party south. Our kids are everything to us and their lives are already outstanding. This win is icing on the cake and takes care of everyone we love now and down the road too,” Carl said.

The family will hold its regular traditional Christmas together and maybe take a trip in the future, Beverley Bevan said. They live on a farm and she said she doesn't expect they will change their lifestyle.

Carl and Beverley Bevan are both retired, with Beverley having just retired Nov. 25.

SOURCE: Valerie MacDonald, Northumberland Today