Group of 11 'high-fived each other' for winning lottery after playing for decades

Dale Biehn, one of the 11 group members to win a Lotto 6/49 draw after matching six of seven Encore numbers. (OLG)

A group of 11 friends and family members across Ontario won the lottery after all playing together since the 90s.

In a Feb. 16 news release, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) said one of the players matched six of seven Encore numbers in exact order in a November Lotto 6/49 draw to win $100,000.

“The group members were talking about the possibility of finally winning right before we checked the ticket,” Dale Biehn, of Stoney Creek, Ont., said while collecting the earnings at the OLG Prize Centre. “I checked the ticket at the store terminal, and I was shocked to see we won $100,000!”

Dale Biehn split the money with the following people:

• Allan Gunn of Grimsby, Ont.
• Bradley, Donald, Gary and Jason Biehn of Brantford, Ont.
• Andrew Smith of Waterford, Ont.
• Bradley Eldridge of Wilsonville, Ont.
• Jeffrey Slater of Dunnville, Ont.
• Robert Biehn of Vanessa, Ont.
• Terrance Larose of Kirkland Lake, Ont.

Dale Biehn said he didn’t share the news until a couple weeks later during a group meeting.

“They all thought I was going to give them some bad news – then I told them we won,” he said.

With their winnings, some of the crew plan to pay off their debt and save a portion of their money.

“Everyone was so excited. We were high-fiving each other,” Bradley Biehn said. “It was a very exciting group meeting.”

The winning ticket was purchased at a Petro Canada station on Green Mountain Road in Stoney Creek.