Canada 6/49: Two-time lottery winner picks up $15 million
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Robert Hong had a better chance of opening an oyster in his Kirkland Lake restaurant and finding a pearl than winning a lottery. But he did it — twice.
Win the lottery that is — not find a pearl.
On Saturday, Hong discovered he had picked all six numbers in the Lotto 6/49 draw, giving him a $15 million jackpot.
Just six months ago, he had a $340,000 win with a friend.
"I really couldn't believe it," Hong said after picking up his prize at the Toronto prize office on Tuesday. "To win again after such a short amount of time, I had to look at the numbers a few times and sit back and see that those were actually the winning numbers."
The odds of winning the top prize are about one in 14 million. The chances of winning twice are, well, astronomical.
Robert Hong had a better chance of opening an oyster in his Kirkland Lake restaurant and finding a pearl than winning a lottery. But he did it. Twice.
Win the lottery that is - not find a pearl.
On Saturday, Hong discovered he had picked all six numbers in the Lotto 6/49 draw, giving him a $15 million jackpot.
Just six months ago, he had a $340,000 win with a friend.
"I really couldn't believe it," Hong said after picking up his prize at the Toronto prize office on Tuesday. "To win again after such a short amount of time, I had to look at the numbers a few times and sit back and see that those were actually the winning numbers."
The odds of winning the top prize are about one in 14 million. The chances of winning twice are, well, astronomical.
To compare, the website Webmath.com says the odds of a woman giving birth to quadruplets are 705,000 to one, and the odds of finding that pearl are a mere 12,000 to one.
Hong has put in long hours operating his family-run, third-generation restaurant in the small Northern Ontario city.
He says he'll still run the restaurant but will cut back on his hours.
"Basically that [job] consumes about 90 per cent of my time, so I don't have a very long time for other things. Now I have a lot of time," Hong said through a large smile.
His wife, Susan Hong, says the family will be able to "enjoy life now."
A second winning ticket in the 6/49 draw was sold in Quebec. That winner hasn't stepped forward yet.