An incredibly lucky lottery player from Quebec proved how, sometimes, it pays to do things at the last second.
On Tuesday, September 17, two people beat the most unlikely odds to win the biggest jackpot in Canadian history.
All eyes were on the record-breaking $80 million Lotto Max jackpot, and one of the two winning lottery tickets that matched the drawn numbers belonged to Quebec resident Bernard Morissette.
Loto-Québec
Morissette, who’s in his eighties, has been playing Lotto Max for many years and has always chosen the same numbers — dates that have a special significance to him.
On September 17, at around 9 pm, he remembered that he hadn’t yet bought his ticket for that night’s draw, which had the historical jackpot up for grabs. He promptly logged in to his lotoquebec.com account to purchase one.
The next day, a Loto-Québec employee reached out to tell him the life-changing news.
Morissette immediately yelled out to his wife: “Rachel! We won $40 million!”
He was advised to double-check this information on his account to confirm the win for himself and then invited to visit the Loto-Québec head office.
Besides his wife, the next to receive the amazing news were his three children. They were so skeptical that they had to check it out for themselves on their father’s computer.
Loto-Québec
The retiree says he needs time to think about what to do with the massive lottery windfall. One thing is for sure, though: he says he intends to secure his children’s financial future.
And somewhere in Grey County, Ontario, another lottery player is rejoicing after nabbing the other half of the staggering $80 million.
The wins didn’t stop there.
Three Canadians split the second prize after they matched six of the seven winning numbers and the bonus number. The winning tickets were sold in Western Canada; Coquitlam, BC; and Peterborough County, Ontario. Each one will take home a cheque for $293,334.10.
Eighteen Maxmillions prizes were up for grabs, and 12 of them were won last night, with some lottery players splitting the $1 million prize. According to PlayNow, the winning tickets were sold in BC, Western Canada, Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada.
In BC, no one won the $500,000 Lotto Max Extra prize; however, someone did win the $1 million Encore prize in Ontario.
Before the $80 million super prize, the most recent Lotto Max jackpot winners were Jennifer Stuart-Flynn and Kyle Murray from Iroquois Falls, Ontario. The couple discovered their $70 million win just days after welcoming a new baby.
“I realize that my kids are going to have a way different life than I had growing up, and that’s the part that makes me most emotional,” said Stuart-Flynn. “It’s because my kids are set, and they will never have to wonder about anything.”
Read their full story here.
Hoping to try your luck in the next Lotto Max draw? The next one is set for tonight and the top prize is now set at $22 million.
With files from Irish Mae Silvestre