Yahoo News Canadian teenager wins Lottery jackpot with first ever ticket bought on her 18th birthday
A teenager in Canada is celebrating winning big on the lottery after buying her very first ticket on her 18 birthday.
Charlie Lagarde won the $1m (£549,000) jackpot after buying the scratch ticket and a bottle of champagne to celebrate her milestone birthday on 14 March.
After winning the jackpot, Ms Lagarde had the choice of taking the jackpot lump sum or $1,000 (£549) a week for life.
The teenager decided to take the weekly sum after consulting a financial adviser said that the $1,000 figure is not taxed.
Patrice Lavoie, a spokesman for the lottery corporation, said: ‘It’s without taxes so it’s equivalent to a salary of more than $100,000 (£55,000) a year, so it’s a great start in life for that young lady.
‘That was her first lottery ticket ever and she fell upon a winning ticket.’
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Ms Lagarde plans to use the money to fund her education.
She told Loto Quebec: ‘I want to study photography. One of my dreams would be to work for National Geographic.’
The average life expectancy in Canada is 81, meaning if Ms Lagarde reaches this age, she would have received over $4m (£2.2m) since her win.
