Most of us have fantasized about winning the lottery and walking away from work forever. But what about people who love what they do?
Earlier this month, one Quebecer became a multimillionaire, and her reaction to winning $5 million was about as wholesome as it gets.
Loto-Québec announced that Stefanie Pepin, a nurse from the Capitale-Nationale region, won the $5 million Classic Jackpot in the Lotto 6/49 draw held on February 18, 2026. The winning numbers were 5, 6, 16, 17, 33, and 44 — and Pepin had them all, thanks to a ticket she purchased online.
She didn’t even find out the old-fashioned way. Loto-Québec called her and left a voicemail letting her know she’d won. After listening to the message, she logged into her online account just to make sure it was real.
Lotto 6/49 winner Stefanie Pepin.Loto-Québec
When the $5 million figure popped up on her screen, her reaction was perfectly understated.
“The day’s off to a good start,” she told herself.
Pepin says she’s still processing the whole thing and needs some time to figure out what she’ll actually do with the money. One thing she’s already sure about, though, is that her family will be taken care of.
“I’m going to give gifts to my loved ones, that’s for sure,” she said.
As for her career, despite the life-changing windfall, the Quebec nurse has no plans to hang up her scrubs. Pepin says she intends to keep working because nursing is a job she genuinely loves, which proves that not everyone is just in it for the paycheque.
For those unfamiliar with how Lotto 6/49 works, every draw features two separate multimillion-dollar prizes. The Classic Jackpot (the one Pepin just claimed) awards a guaranteed $5 million to anyone who matches all six numbers drawn from 1 to 49. The second prize, the Gold Ball Jackpot, works differently: each play comes with a unique 10-digit Gold Ball number, and a separate draw determines whether the winner walks away with $1 million or the full Gold Ball Jackpot, which starts at $10 million and can climb as high as $68 million.
Whether or not Pepin remains at her job for years (or decades) to come remains to be seen. But she’ll probably be expected to take care of the tab on the next few coffee runs.