Imagine having a lottery ticket worth a staggering $64 million for nearly a year and having absolutely no idea. That was the incredible reality for one lottery winner.
On April 15, 2023, the Lotto 6/49 Gold Ball jackpot had grown to $64 million, and after the draw, it was announced that someone in Atlantic Canada had won the top prize—the biggest prize ever won in the region. But months passed, and no one came forward to claim the ticket.
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The Atlantic Lottery Corporation (ALC) issued press releases announcing that the ticket was sold in Gloucester County, New Brunswick and that the winning ticket was set to expire on April 15, 2024, yet no one came forward to claim the prize.
But just 19 days before the ticket was about to expire, Merel Chiasson of Bas-Caraquet, New Brunswick, walked into the Atlantic Lottery head office with the ticket to claim his winnings.
According to Chiasson, he heard people in the area talking about the unclaimed prize but never imagined he could be the winner. Instead, the life-changing ticket sat among his collection of his other unchecked tickets on his bedroom dresser for 347 days. Chiasson said that he regularly checks a month’s worth of tickets in one go just before they are set to expire. And because of this routine, he never worried about missing out on a prize.
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“I’ve always done it like that, and I never thought I would win big, so I leave the tickets there and didn’t worry too much about it,” he said. He added that “it’s possible” that another winning ticket is still waiting among his stack of tickets.
So when he finally went to check his ticket at a local retailer, Chiasson was confused: he couldn’t tell if the printout stated that he won $64,000 or $64,000,000.
“There was a lot of zeros, so I wasn’t sure,” he said. But when he showed his partner the validation slip, she knew immediately that Chiasson had the winning ticket.
Chiasson has been working at a local fish plant for the past few years after working as a crab fisherman for 40 years. He said that his windfall will allow him to retire for good, and he’s excited to use his money to help his family.
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“I don’t want anything big,” he said. “It’s not going to change me, I’m still the same person.”
Chiasson has been playing the Lotto 6/49 for years and plans to continue playing even after his win.
The winning Lotto 6/49 ticket was purchased at Depanneur Pokemouche in Pokemouche, New Brunswick. The retailer will receive a one percent seller’s prize.
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