Brentwood Dream Home Lottery grand prize winners announced

Three lucky people have received their grand prize winnings after playing the 31st annual Brentwood Dream Home Lottery.

The three winners received their prizes Wednesday, with Dena Peifer of Windsor taking home a $780,000 cheque, the cash prize after winning the dream home.

Peifer says she missed the call about her win and actually had friends listen to the message on her phone.

"I said 'listen to these two messages, I heard something about winning and I want to see if it's a scam call.' So I had four friends and family over at the time to hear the message at the same time I actually heard it," she says. "There was a lot of screaming, hollering, I'll tell you that, jumping up and down, and drinking."

 Peifer, says she feels like she was guided or nudged by her late brother Brett, who died of congestive heart failure a few years ago.

"I was driving by to go to the gym and I said 'oh I'll get a ticket on the way back.' On the way back, I overshot the driveway. Instead of thinking I'll get it tomorrow, I kind of felt so strongly, no turn around and go get it today. So I did," she says.

Peifer says she doesn't know all her plans for her winnings yet but plans to upgrade her existing home and travel.

Elizabeth Dulmage, Executive director at Brentwood Recovery Home and Ken Courtenay, Chair of the Brentwood board of directors, present a $780,000 cheque to Dena Peifer (centre). Peifer won the money after winning the grand prize in the Brentwood Dream Home Lottery. Feb. 1, 2023 (Photo by Rusty Thomson)

Cynthia Turner of Windsor received $139,357 as the 50/50 cash prize winner, while Trish Beckett of Windsor won the third grand prize, a brand new 2023 Ford F-150.

Beckett, who works at Caesars Windsor, is celebrating a second big win over the past year. She and her common-law partner, Joel Wells, won $100,000 after playing Encore in the July 19, 2022 Lotto Max draw.

"We were afraid to tell people that we won the truck too, we didn't think we would be that lucky so close together," says Beckett. "I've been buying tickets for the Brentwood Lottery for over 20 years and I've never even won tickets.  Just in the last little while, things have started to change for us, so that's good."

In all, the lottery handed out over $1.3 million in cash and prizes.

Over 70,000 tickets were sold for the 2022 lottery, 13,000 more than 2021, with over $2-million in gross sales.

The Brentwood Recovery Home currently operates 68 beds, providing addictions and mental health supports and programs to clients and their families. 

Lottery proceeds help fund essential programs and services at the facility at 2335 Dougall Ave. in Windsor, which currently has a three month long wait list.