First Time Was The Charm For These Lottery Winners!

If you are still thinking about whether or not to play the lottery you should read these incredible stories about first time lottery players who won! Whether their stories truly are a case of beginners luck, or not, there is no reason that it couldn’t happen to you! Not everyone has to faithfully play the lottery for years before they are rewarded with a big payday. Once you read these incredible stories, you’ll want to join these lucky winners, too!


First-ever lottery ticket makes teen the youngest Canadian to win!

An 18-year-old university student won a $48 million (US$35.7 million) Lotto 6/49 jackpot on 7 January 2023, with her first lottery ticket purchase making her the youngest Canadian to win one of the largest prizes for this lottery!

The winner, Juliette Lamour, 18 who had just turned the legal age to buy a lottery ticket in Ontario, was on her way to see her grandfather and get him some ice cream on the day she bought the ticket that would change her life. "I called him on the phone asking what kind of ice cream he wanted," "And he said to me, 'You just turned 18, go buy a lotto ticket, test your luck.' So I did." Nearly a month later on the 3 February 2023 there was a rush of ticket-checking at her workplace after the Ontario Lottery announced the jackpot for the draw on 8 January 2023 had been won.

Lamour explained she also would like to use the winnings to "experience different countries, study their history and culture, try their food, and listen to their culture." It will definitely take some time for her to figure out the best way to allocate her winnings and she is in no rush. "You know what, it's a lot," she explained. "I have to think about it. We're definitely going to keep friends and family in mind, and tonight, I'm still a university student, so I'm planning on finishing my biology report."

Record EuroMillions Prize Goes to New Player From French Polynesia!

This first-time player from French Polynesia won EuroMillions’ biggest ever jackpot of €220 million on 15 October 2021 after it had rolled over in a Superdraw series that started on 24 September 2021. In addition to breaking all previous records, it is also the largest European lottery prize ever awarded!

The winner, a young woman who chose to remain anonymous, told La Française des Jeux that she was inspired by her grandfather who regularly played the lottery: “I have often told my grandpa that I will be lucky the day I play one day.” She decided to test her luck on the day that the EuroMillions jackpot reached the maximum amount - and it definitely paid off!

While receiving her €220 million jackpot from a representative in Tahiti, she revealed the many plans for her big prize! “I feel like travelling the world with my family and discovering the snow that I’ve never seen before.” She also wants to buy a second home on every continent, invest money, and donate to charity.

First Time Powerball Players Pocket $90 million

They didn’t know it at the time, but Lisa and Everett Quam of Seattle, Washington would have something to be thankful for as they celebrated the American Thanksgiving holiday in 2014. As it turned out, one of the Powerball tickets they had bought on Thanksgiving was a $90 million jackpot winner in the draw on 29 November 2014!

Their story began when Lisa went to the market to get some last minute ingredients for the family’s Thanksgiving dinner. At the store, the cashier suggested to Lisa that she buy a Powrball ticket and take a chance on an incredibly high jackpot.

On a whim, Lisa agreed. She ended up buying two tickets that Thanksgiving day, one for her and one for her husband, which she stuck on her refrigerator and forgot about until Sunday night, well after the draw.

When Lisa decided to check her numbers, 25, 30, 32, 46, 54 and 26 she couldn’t believe what she saw: they had won the $90 million jackpot! “I yelled for (my family) to come upstairs,” Quam said at a news conference. “They all took turns checking the numbers and rechecking the numbers.”

Longtime Boeing employees, Everett as a mechanic and Lisa as an administrative assistant, the couple decided to quit their jobs and travel. They also made sure to set aside enough money to ensure that future generations would be well taken care of. The Quams donated generously to several charities including the Boy Scouts of America.

Lisa and Everett were the first Powerball jackpot winners in Washington state.

first time lottery winners

Beginners Luck or Something Else

Tina Ferrone had what at first glance seems to be the ultimate stroke of beginners luck when she won CA$48 miilion on her first try playing Lotto Max in Ottawa, Canada on 24 March 2014.

"I thought it was CA$48,000 at first, I couldn't process what was happening," she said while picking up her prize in Toronto.

However, where Tina’s story diverges from the typical first timer beginner’s luck tale is in the fact that her husband Liam was diagnosed with cancer in January 2012 and had been unable to work as he underwent chemotherapy.

"It's been a long road, we didn't expect to get something like this," Liam said. "After all the dips we get a big boost."

Today, Liam’s cancer is in remission and Tina fulfilled her long-time dream of owning her own yoga studio.

First Time Mega Millions Player Wins Mega Prize

A 26 year old Maryland resident was driving home from his job as an IT consultant when he heard on the radio that the US Mega Millions jackpot was $363 million for the Tuesday 27 March, 2012 draw.

Never having bought a single lottery ticket in his life, the Maryland man decided to stop by a 7-11 and try his luck at the record Mega Millions prize. The man bought a seven-line entry, six of which were quick pick numbers and the seventh a series of randomly chosen numbers.

Later that same night the Maryland man checked his ticket to find out that his randomly selected 7th line had won him a $250,000 second prize in the Mega Millions draw!

“I kind of didn’t believe it at first,” he said. “I ran and woke up everyone in the house. My mom started laughing. Then we double checked and triple checked the ticket.”

Even then, he remained unconvinced of his big win. “I slept well — didn’t really think about it.”

First Time Lottery Winners on theLotter

theLotter is no stranger to first time winners, several players have gotten lucky immediately after deciding to play it global with theLotter.

B.U. from the UK wanted to play American lotteries after hearing about the $656 million Mega Millions jackpot of March 2012, a record setting jackpot at the time that was not surpassed until Powerball’s $1.6 billion jackpot in January 2016. B.U. found theLotter after researching ways to play American lotteries online and started playing US Powerball. After only five entries, B.U. won the US Powerball $1 million second prize!

Most recently, K. from Holland won $15,000 playing Mega Millions with theLotter on his very first try! K. had plaid the national lottery, Staatsloterij, in Holland for years with no results. However, when K. decided to seek his lottery fortune abroad with theLotter his luck immediately changed!

Take a Chance!

As we’ve seen it is possible to win the lottery on your first try, or close to it. There is no reason that you cannot join these incredibly lucky first timers and pull off an impressive stroke of beginner’s luck of your own. Go ahead and  your buy you lottery tickets online and give yourself a chance at some beginners luck!