Guided by a message in a dream from her late father, a Barrouallie woman has turned a free play into an EC$524,000 Super 6 jackpot. Curlan Francis Edwards played a specific set of numbers she claimed to have received in a dream from her deceased father. The initial play won her a complimentary ticket, which she successfully parlayed into a second free play that ultimately hit the grand prize.
During a media conference which was held at the National Lotteries Authority (NLA) headquarters in Kingstown on Wednesday, Edwards was presented with a cheque for her half-share of the EC$1,048,000 jackpot that is split between her and a player in St Lucia. The winning draw took place on Sept. 29. The selling agent, which is HoneyCrome in Canouan, is due to receive a 1.5 per cent commission on Edwards’ share, amounting to $7,860.
While explaining the story behind her winning numbers: 2, 8, 12, 16, 19, and 25, Edwards reflected on her father’s death in December 2021. “When he was about to bury, April 2022, the same morning when he was supposed to bury, he brought some numbers in my dream,” She recollected “an old people saying” that when the dead talk about numbers in a dream, the dreamer must keep playing them.
“So eventually, I started playing…and it was lot of numbers, and I just add a number to play Super Six,” Edwards stated. However, most times Edwards would only match three numbers. “I remember one time I was on camp with the secondary school, and four numbers call and I didn’t play, and I was so upset,” Edwards continued. Her mother comforted her, saying, “If three come, then four is gonna come, then five is gonna come. Keep playing.”
Edwards followed her mother’s advice. “…I remember playing, I got a free ticket…you know when you give free ticket, you usually get back a ticket, and then I played the ticket the day of the 29th, and I actually wasn’t even gonna play, and then I went and I bought them, and when the number called, and I’m like damn…” Edwards was in denial. She had played the winning numbers. “I snapped the photo because I’m watching it on YouTube on my phone, so I snapped the…numbers and then I send it to my brother in New York.”
That was when his brother confirmed that she had in fact won the jackpot. “…Then he called me because he’s like my best friend, and he called me, he’s like, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re a millionaire!’ I didn’t even know how much money it was when I actually played the Super Six.” Edwards said she looked at her ticket and exclaimed, “Holy moly!” and began wondering how many people had won the prize, being convinced that a Saint Lucian would have had to receive a fraction of the money.
“And then he’s like, ‘okay, hear me, well, check lottery page and see how much persons win’ because I am not on Facebook, so I don’t even know what is going…” when Edwards’ brother could not find any information about the winners on Facebook, he used Artificial Intelligence which told him everything that he needed to know.
“And I was like, ‘okay, I’m gonna write my name on the ticket, and I’m gonna tell you alone where the ticket is, just in case something happened to me. This is where the ticket is tucked away, and he’s like, ‘okay, just make sure your name on it. Once your name on it, we are set.’ I was like, okay.” Edwards remembered being so afraid to sleep the night she learnt about her victory. “Because like oh Jesus, I win money. That’s a lot of money, but he’s like, ‘you know what you are going to do with it, you know’ and I was like yeah a house. He’s like, ‘there you go, there you go’ and I just want to thank God.”
Though some religious perspectives maintained that God is not a part of gambling, Edwards does not believe that she would have won the money if the “blessing” was not meant for her.
“And I say thanks to my family as well for always supporting me for everything…and thank you for the National Lotteries as well because I’m a sports girl, and I usually used to get upset saying all them sports I play for St Vincent , run for St Vincent, play netball for St Vincent and they ain’t even giving me no win..I got a win now, Sports and Culture.”
Chairperson of the NLA board Luann Hadaway, who also present at the media conference told the media that when she was first introduced to Edwards, she wanted to rub her hands to get some luck.
“And she said, ‘No, it’s not luck. It’s blessings’…and indeed, she’s been playing the games for about five years, and her blessings did pay off this time. She really did get a big blessing.”
Hadaway congratulated her and conveyed NLA’s happiness that she has been blessed with this victory. Hadaway noted that it is a dream of the majority of Vincentians, if not all, to own their own home to ensure security for themselves and families.
“And from our conversation, I am confident that Miss Edwards is going to use her winnings wisely.”
Hadaway then advised Edwards to make sure she thinks twice about her plans.
“There’s an old saying: ‘Measure twice, cut once’ so on behalf of the National Lotteries, we are delighted to be part of making your dream a reality, and congratulations to you.”
With Edward’s massive win claimed, the jackpot resets for the next round. The Super 6 game is played twice weekly on Tuesdays and Fridays across the four Windward Islands: St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Dominica, and St. Lucia. Players choose six numbers from a pool of 1 to 28, with a jackpot that continuously rolls over until a winning ticket matches all six drawn numbers.