Great-grandma wins $50M, plans to travel and buy SUV

Alberta's newest multi-millionaire wishes she'd won her big lottery prize a couple of decades back, when she would have had more time left to enjoy it.

Lois Olsenthinks 80 is a bit oldfor this $50 million business.

"For my family, it's going to help them out a lot," she said Wednesday after picking up a cheque that was enormous in every sense of the word.

"For me, I'm too old for this. I would have liked to have won this 20 or 30 years ago."

Olsen said she plans to spend at least some of her windfall on her kids, grandkids and great-grandkids.

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A few weeks ago, she used a free play to get another Lotto Max ticket at the Co-op in Irma, Alta., a smalltown about 200 kilometres southeast of Edmonton.

She returned to the store the next day to scan her ticket.

"I checked it myself on the self-checking," she said. "I put my ticket in, and pulled it out, and it looked like $50.

"I pulled it out and put it back in, and it looked like $500. Pulled it out and put it back in, and told the girl, 'I think there's something wrong with this machine. She comes around the corner and says, 'No, you just won $50 million."

Olsenchose to keep her identity a relative secret for several weeks, but word of her win spread in her hometown, said Irma residentKent Erickson.

"She worked on the farm for a long time," Erikson said. "And back in the day, I imagine, when she was younger on a small farm, striving to make ends meet, she probably worked hard as that generation did.

"So it's a good thing, that for those retired years of her life, she can maybe go on a holiday and do some extra things and have those opportunities. It's just fantastic."

Olsen said she has no extravagant plans for the money but would like to upgrade her vehicle.

"I've got a car that's 11 years old. I never got rid of it because it's never cost me a penny other than oil, gas, and tires, and it has been reliable.

"But I think I'll buy an SUV, something a little higher for me to get in and out of. So that will be the big purchase."

Olsen said she has no plans to leave Irma (population less than 500), but would like to visit Ireland now that she can travel in style.

"I don't care to travel anymore, but maybe now I can travel first class."