It was a family affair as Margaret Eisenhauer became Nova Scotia’s first winner to spin the big MEGA 360 wheel, where she took home a prize of $125,000.

Eisenhauer, along with five family members, recently made the trip from Walden, N.S., just up from scenic Mahone Bay, to spin the MEGA 360 wheel at the Atlantic Lottery head office in Moncton, N.B. Players who win a chance to spin the big wheel are guaranteed to win a prize ranging from $100,000 to $500,000.

In the moments before her spin and learning how big her prize would be, Eisenhauer revealed she had at least one special idea in mind for her winnings.

“I would really love to go to Newfoundland,” she said, adding that while she’s had many friends from the province over the years and her husband used to drive trucks there, she had never visited it for herself.

The first player from Nova Scotia to spin the big wheel, Eisenhauer was the tenth player overall since the game launched in October 2023, following others from New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island.

A mother of eight children, plus four other relatives who she also raised as her own, Eisenhauer is used to be surrounded by her loved ones. That was certainly the case at her spin of the big wheel, as five family members came along for the experience.

One of Eisenhauer’s sons got the honour of spinning the wheel on her behalf as she and the others watched, ultimately resulting in her $125,000 prize.

“It’s still not really sinking in,” she said of the experience. “I can’t wait until it does.”

Aside from a potential trip to the Rock, Eisenhauer said she plans to put some of her prize towards a new furnace and roof for her home, which the family has always called “The Big House,” and maybe a few other updates around the property to ensure it will remain the hub of the extended family for years to come.

MEGA 360 is the first Scratch, Watch and Spin game offered by Atlantic Lottery. The game can be played as either a Scratch’N Win ticket at retail or as an Instant Win game at alc.ca. Players first scratch their ticket or click through their digital game, and those who unlock the “spin” feature in their game get to watch an animated wheel spin to reveal their prize – this happens during in-store validation for Scratch’N Win tickets or online for Instant Win games. If a spin lands on “MEGA 360”, the player wins the opportunity to spin the MEGA 360 wheel at Atlantic Lottery’s head office in Moncton, N.B.

A casual lottery player who plays two or three Scratch’N Win tickets a week – MEGA 360 is her favourite game – Eisenhauer said she thought it must have been a mistake when her son called from the retailer after finding out she had won a prize of at least $100,000.

“I didn’t tell too many people because I didn’t believe it,” she said. “I think I was stunned or something. I kept thinking ‘That’s not right, that’s not right.’”

The winning MEGA 360 ticket was purchased at Circle K in Mahone Bay, N.S. The retailer will receive a one per cent seller’s prize.