In my experience, it's rare to come across a pair of sisters sitting in silence with nothing to say. My mom and her sister can literally talk for hours without so much as an extended breath.

For Kerry Howling and Jacqueline Walsh of southwestern Ontario, learning that they'd won $1 million playing LOTTO 6/49 literally left them speechless.

"I was checking our tickets one morning while have a coffee, comparing the winning numbers to ours and it looked like we won something big," said Howling at the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) Prize Centre in Toronto this week. "I took my glasses off to clean them because I didn't believe my eyes."

Walsh, who lives in Windsor, and Howling, who lives in the nearby community of Tecumseh, said they could barely speak to one another when the reality of winning seven figures hit.

"I just looked at her in disbelief," said Walsh of her sister, with whom she has been playing the lottery for two-and-a-half years.

OLG says that the women purchased their winning ticket at a Zehrs store on Manning Road in Tecumseh and that they won their prize through the LOTTO 6/49 Gold Ball Draw on February 8, 2023.

The sisters plan to share their joint million-dollar windfall with their sons and go on a trip. They're also planning a party to celebrate the win.

"It's surreal," they told OLG. "We just feel so blessed. It's a lot to process."