BAY ROBERTS, N.L. — On Dec. 10 the morning started as is usually does for Wayne and Yvonne Bishop.
The Bay Roberts couple had their breakfast and headed out for their regular morning walk. When they returned to their home, their morning took a turn from the usual.
It all started with a phone message from their son, Andy. He was calling to tell them there had been a $1-million Atlantic Lottery winner from Bay Roberts.
The couple quickly checked their tickets from the Dec. 9 Lotto 6/49 draw and everything lined up. They had the numbers in the correct order.
They were winners.
“I couldn’t believe it,” said Wayne. “I read it over five times.”
“I’m still walking in a fog. I can’t move. Everything is in slow motion.”
He quickly headed down to the local convenience store to run his numbers through the official machine.
The machine made the winning sound and he knew they had just won the prize money.
“I’m still walking in a fog,” said Yvonne. “I can’t move. Everything is in slow motion.”
On Tuesday, the Bishops were officially recognized as lottery winners and given the giant novelty cheque to prove it at a ceremony at the Atlantic Lottery Corp. office in St. John’s.
News of their win was broadcast over the lottery corporation's Facebook page. Since then, they’ve been bombarded with congratulatory phone calls and text messages.
“It’s just starting to sink in now,” said Wayne. “For a long time, we couldn’t tell anyone.”
Andy made sure he was at the ceremony on Tuesday afternoon.
He said his parents have been working hard their entire lives and deserve their lottery win.
“To see the hard work pay off for Mom and Dad, it was unreal,” said Andy. “I can’t get over it, actually.”
Last Thursday, he was heading back to his St. John’s home from Fortune as he anxiously waited for any news about his parents' lottery luck.
Midway through the almost four-hour drive, a call came from his mother that they hadn’t won. Turns out it was all a ruse.
When Andy landed in St. John’s, he called his mother again. That's when he found out they had won.
“(Yvonne) didn’t tell me they had won because she didn’t want me to go off the road,” he said. “They had won … and then Mom started to cry.
“So, then I knew it was true.”
Newly minted lottery winners tend to get asked what they plan to do with the money, and the Bishops were no different.
While they don’t have it all figured out, they do have some things settled on.
They plan on helping out Andy and his older brother, Ryan, along with their grandson, and besides that, the open road is likely in their future.
When the world starts to open again should the COVID-19 pandemic ever start to taper off, the Bishops have their eyes on doing some travelling.
They’ve long had a B.T. Cruiser, a midsize motorhome, on their wish list and when things open up, they’re going to put some kilometres on it.
“We’re going to do some travelling,” said Wayne.
Nicholas Mercer is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter covering central Newfoundland for SaltWire Network.
