Group of Calgary mothers wins $1M on Lotto 6-49

Catherine Forsyth, Barbara Stromquist, Joanne Deaver, Laurel Gordon-Cooper, Shirley Eagle, Susan Cahill, Wendy DeMontigny and Wendy Merriam won $1 million on the September 11 Lotto 6-49 draw. (WCLC handout)

Eight Calgary moms that share a lottery subscription say they were shocked to get a phone call telling them they'd won $1 million.

Catherine Forsyth, Barbara Stromquist, Joanne Deaver, Laurel Gordon-Cooper, Shirley Eagle, Susan Cahill, Wendy DeMontigny and Wendy Merriam started their lottery group ten years ago during a wine night.

"We didn’t want to go in every week to buy and check tickets," Forsyth said.

She said when she started calling everyone to tell them the news they all responded in a similar fashion. 

"They all said the same thing," she said. "'Oh my god!'"

The women have been friends for years and raised their kids together.

"We started as a parent group, and now we’re also a grandparent group," Forsyth explained.

The winners got their big windfall from a Gold Ball Draw by matching the selection in the Lotto 6-49 Sept. 11 draw: 38272561-01, a white ball. 

If split evenly amongst the group, each winner would receive $125,000. 

Gordon-Cooper says most of them will be "enriching" their current lives.

"One gal already put a deposit on a new car," she said.