Student’s luck pays off

Reeghan Peister, a fifth-year arts student at Wilfrid Laurier University, had the surprise of his life in mid-November when he won $10,000 on a scratch ticket.

“That day, I went to only buy the one and when I grabbed it, I picked two and I didn’t mean to. I just decided that I would take them both instead of putting one back,” he explained.

The ticket, Peister said, was a “Wild Ten” scratch ticket he bought at 7/11 on University Avenue and King Street in Waterloo.

Peister explained he buys scratch tickets regularly, about every other week.
Upon taking the ticket home, Peister scratched it and said he didn’t believe the outcome.

“I walked out into my living room, showed my roommate and he didn’t believe me either. He said we should go to 7/11 and make sure it’s real,” Peister explained. Sure enough, the ticket was a winner.

Peister has not yet received the money.

He explained because he works at a store that also sells lottery tickets, the process is going to be longer than the average person.

“You have to do a whole interview with the OPP, which happened a month ago, but I still haven’t heard anything. I should be getting it within the next month.”

When asked what he was going to do with the money, Peister seemed uncertain.

“I owe some people money,” he joked, “So I’m going to pay that off. But I don’t know, I just bought a car, so I don’t need to pay that off. I’m still up for suggestions.”

He expressed that he may use the money for a spur of the moment trip, but his destination is still undecided.

There was one thing Peister was certain about, however. “There will be a party involved once I get the money,” he said.

To any Laurier student, winning $10,000 would be a dream come true.

Although it’s not enough to wholly pay for a degree or buy a house, it would be enough to make a dent. $10,000 is roughly two years’ tuition, the vacation of a lifetime or a gently used car.

Hannah Brown, a fourth-year film and global studies student said that if she were to win $10,000, she would, “travel everywhere.”

Fourth-year communications student Maddie Williams gave the ultimate selfless answer when she said if she were to win $10,000 she would “contribute some money to send my parents on a trip for their anniversary this summer.”

Not all of us have the same luck as Peister, but we can all take a moment to dream about how our lives would change if we did.