An 18-year-old became the youngest Canadian to hit $48 million jackpot in her first shot at the lottery

For Juliette Lamour, 2023 will be a year she will never forget. She won a $48 million lottery and she had never even played the lottery before because she had just turned 18. She brought the ticket to a Circle K store in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and found out she won on January 7 while at work, per CBS.

Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation presented Lamour with a massive check on February 3. They also called her the youngest Canadian to ever win such a big jackpot through the lottery.

Lamour said that it was on her grandfather's suggestion that she bought a lotto ticket. "I had just turned 18 and my grandfather suggested I buy a lottery ticket for fun," Lamour said at a media conference on February 3, according to OLG.

Lamour said she checked the ticket at work on the lottery app, as a jingle started to play, with "Big Winner" displayed on the screen. She said, "My colleague fell to his knees in disbelief. He was screaming, in fact, everyone was screaming that I had won $48 million." It is nearly $36 million USD.

She added, "At first, I didn't understand what was going on. I couldn't take in the news. We made quite a scene in the store that day."

When Lamour called her parents, she was crying and her mother couldn't understand what she was saying."Fortunately, my father managed to decode that I had won the jackpot in the lottery," Lamour said. "I knew I couldn't concentrate on my work anymore and my boss told me to go home, but my mom wanted me to finish my day."

"My colleagues shouted 'Come and get her,' and my parents finally came," she said. Lamour, who is from Sault Ste. Marie. Lamour said she wants to become a doctor in Ontario after college. She also said she plans to invest the lottery money and fortunately, her father is a financial planner.

“As a member of the Garden River First Nation community, I was eligible for educational assistance programs, but I no longer need those resources, which means someone else in the community can benefit from that funding. I really want to come back to this area as a doctor, so I can give back to my community,” she said per Now Toronto.

She also plans on putting some of the money into a trip for her family. "When school is over, my family and I will choose a continent and go explore it," she said. "I'm not one to spend my days at the beach. I want to visit different countries, learn about their history and culture, taste food, and listen to people speak their language," she added.

"Money doesn't define you," Lamour said. "It's the work you do that will define you."