Chase the Ace winner splits $263K winnings with best friend

Winning more than a quarter million dollars at Sydney'sChase the Ace meantPamLesnick had some explaining to do this weekend.

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The Sydney woman hadagreed to split winnings from the ticket number that was drawn Saturday night with her best friend, but it wasn't the only ticket she'd purchased.

Breaking that news wasn't easy.

"It probably had to be the worst night of my life," she said Monday.

"My first son came in and wrapped his arms around me and he said, 'Oh mom, you pulled it off for us.Isaid, 'Oh Rodney, it wasn't the ones I had with you boys.' And they said, 'Youknow what mom,' he said 'It's all good, it's all good you are going to be looked after.'"

Overwhelmed after ticket drawn

Lesnicksays she went into a trance after realizing she held the coveted ticketand became full of anxiety because she wanted to tell her sons before they heard the news.

"I actually got sick, I got really weak. Of course I was excited, me and my girlfriend, I knew it was her," she said.

When Lesnick eventually reached her friend,MarieOsmond, who lives in Summerside, P.E.I,her friendscreamed with joy.

"I can't tell you what exactly what I said but I will tell you I was very excited,"said Osmond.

"I didn't even ask her how much we won or whose name the cheque was in ...I trust her with all my heart and then some."

Lesnicksays she's going to hold off spending her winnings until she's comfortable she knows the best placeto put it. In the meantime, she plans onpaying offbills and says her family will ultimately benefit in the end.

"I'm just going to leave it for a couple of weeks and think," she said.

Both women say they'll be back at work Tuesday.

Praying for someone to win

Lesnick says drawingthe queen of hearts, instead of the ace, wasn't a disappointment. She says she was floored by the goodwill from the crowd.

"Only in Sydney would you see people praying for someone else to get the ace, and that they were," she said.

"I looked at all them anxious people out there in the crowd, and most everybody in that place probably knew me or who I was, and I thought, somebody else is going to get the chance to stand up here next week."

LesnickandOsmondalso haven't given up hope of winning the jackpot, either.Lesnick says she'll be getting in line for tickets again this Saturday.

With seven cards left in the deck, the jackpot is expected to grow to $1.9 million, which wouldsurpass last year's Inverness event where the winner took home $1.7 million.