Sue Murphy had just returned home from buying a Christmas present for her grandson when she got a life-changing call she was certain had to be a joke.
Officials from the Dream Lottery were on the other end of the line telling the 61-year-old London woman she was the grand prize winner of the semi-annual sweepstakes.
"Oh my goodness. Is this a joke?" questioned Murphy.
Throughout the nearly three minute call on Thursday, lottery officials worked to convince her she was indeed the winner and now has a choice of one of two luxury homes valued at roughly $1.5 million or $1 million cash.
"I'm in shock. I'm just overwhelmed, and I'm really excited," Murphy said.
The retired customs officer and her common-law husband Dennis Reed, 63, have been faithfully buying tickets for the lottery, in support of London's three hospitals, for the past ten years.
"My head is just spinning," said Reed, who noted they had never won so much as a free ticket over the last decade.
Reed, a wastewater treatment operator for the City of London, was at work when Murphy called to tell him the good news and he couldn't help but announce it to his colleagues.
"I said 'I just won the Dream Lottery' and they were all high-fiving me and I thought 'I hope it is not a joke," said Reed.
The couple is unsure which prize they will select. They spent the morning touring the home on Meadowlands Way and plan to take a look at the second home on Edwin Drive. The money presents its own realm of possibility, with Murphy dreaming out loud about a new vehicle to replace her 1999 Ford Explorer or taking her two adult children and grandkids on a trip.
"That's been my dream. What I've always wanted to do. Bring the whole family to Disney," said Murphy.
Aline Wirtanen of Sarnia was also announced on Thursday as the winner of the 50/50 draw. She will take home $537,022.50, which is half of the $1,074,045 50/50 pot.
Speaking with lottery officials by phone, a very calm Wirtanen said "that is nice" after being informed of her over the half-a-million-dollar win.
Since 1996, the Dream Lottery has raised a net total of nearly $39-million in support of London's Children’s Hospital, St. Joseph’s Health Care, and the London Health Sciences Centre.
"It's great because the money can go to the highest priority needs of those institutions," said John MacFarlane, president and CEO of London Health Sciences Foundation. "We work with the hospitals to determine if there is a piece of equipment, is there a research project that is underway that needs to be supported and we can use these funds to help with that. If we didn't have these funds those things wouldn't happen."
Despite being held twice a year for the past 23-years, the lottery shows no signs of dwindling support. Four of the last five editions of the lottery, including this one, sold out.
"Yet again our community has stepped up to support the hospitals," said MacFarlane. "That is a real testament to the generosity of our community and I just want to say thank you for the generous support."
A full list of winners for the more than 2,000 other lottery prizes will be posted online in the coming days at www.dreamitwinit.ca.