Winner of $40M lottery jackpot thought it was $40K

TORONTO, April 11 (UPI) -- An Ontario woman who was excited to win $40,000 in the lottery said she was shocked to discover the jackpot was actually $40 million.

Maria Carreiro, 51, said she was excited to find her Lottery Max ticket was a winner and she showed it to her daughter, who went online to double-check the win and discovered it was actually worth $40 million, ABC News reported Thursday.

"I couldn't believe it. I was shaking and just couldn't believe that it was real. We were all excited when we thought it was only in the thousands but then in disbelief when we discovered I was a millionaire!" Carreiro said Monday when she collected her prize money from the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Commission.

Carreiro told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. she usually used her children's birthdays to play the lottery, but allowed the computer to pick random numbers for her this time.