By Chad Ingram

A Minden woman has won $500,000, the top prize, on a Plinko ticket purchased at On the Spot Variety.

Jennifer Smith received the ticket as a gift from her dad. As a press release from the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation explains, the game holds a special place for the family.

“He purchased tickets for the whole family because of the connection we had to the game,” Smith said in the release. “My husband built a Plinko board game board a few years ago for a Jack and Jill party game.”

Smith’s ticket included a CHIP win, meaning she got to travel to the OLG prize centre in Toronto and drop a chip into a giant Plinko board, a scene straight out of The Price is Right.

“When we went to the store to have it validated, everything became a blur,” Smith said. “We were oblivious to what we won.”

When Smith dropped the chip into the board, it landed on the biggest prize amount possible – half a million dollars.

“When I dropped the chip, I was unaware of what was happening,” she said. “I felt like I wasn’t even breathing. When the prize amount was announced, it felt like a dream come true.

Smith split her winnings with her parents, and intends to put some toward her children’s education, as well as some improvements around the house. “My oldest daughter wants new bedroom furniture and my youngest said she wants a surprise,” she said. “… This feeling is like nothing I’ve experienced before.”

In late 2020, another Minden woman won $100,000 on an Instant Crossword ticket, also purchased at On the Spot Variety.