It took around 30 years, but a Saint-André, N.B., woman’s diligence finally paid off.

Denise Bérubé always played the same numbers for Lotto 6/49.  Over the years, she switched from buying her tickets at the store to playing online at alc.ca

Those numbers helped her to win the $5 million jackpot from the March 26th draw.

“I went on the website and saw I had a winner, and when I opened the ticket, I saw all those zeros, so I looked at the numbers and they were really my numbers, “Bérubé said. “I went to the winning numbers to confirm again that those were my numbers, and I was in shock.”

Among her winning numbers, a birthdate, wedding anniversary and the age she dreamed of retiring.

“I’ve been playing Lotto 6/49 for a very long time, always with the same numbers that I chose a long time ago because they each had a significance,” Bérubé said. “Some numbers I do still remember why I picked them, but a few others I don’t remember why. It’s been that long that I’ve been playing the same  numbers.”

Bérubé retired last summer, not at the age she had hoped to, but she says her win will help her enjoy her retirement even more. She is looking forward to using her prize money to travel with her husband and her sisters, with a trip to Africa at the very top of her list.