Instant win ticket pays off big for Mississauga man and pal of 40 years

Ali Yari and Haik Parseghian have been a pretty successful pair as friends for the past 40 years.

Now, they’re also “a winning combination” when it comes to the lottery.

Yari, of Mississauga, and Parseghian, who’s from Toronto, are celebrating a recent $250,000 top prize win playing Instant Crossword Deluxe.

The friends say they’ve been playing the lottery together for decades and decided to take a chance with instant win tickets as well.

After being told of their win by his pal, Yari said he couldn’t believe their good fortune, at first.

“There were so many zeroes; it was very exciting,” said Yari while at the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto to pick up their winnings.

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“We are a winning combination,” added Parseghian, laughing. “We will keep playing together.”

Parseghian said he bought the last two Crossword tickets at the store.

“I scratched the ticket and thought we won $25,000 at first, and I went crazy,” he said. “When I checked it again on the OLG app, I realized we had actually won $250,000. I was so shocked.”

Both men say they plan to take a vacation and share their winnings with their families.

The winning ticket was purchased at Maple Leaf Convenience Store, on Church Street in Toronto.