Canada Lotto Max: $50M Lotto Max jackpot finally wonRating:Massive prize shared by two winning tickets
Next draw worth $30 million, as non-winning Maxmillions prizes roll into next pot
Mortgage-burning parties, new vehicles and lavish vacations are likely in the offing for holders of two winning tickets in Friday's $50 million Lotto Max jackpot.
Lottery corporations in Atlantic and Western Canada say two winning tickets worth $25 million each were sold in Happy Valley Goose Bay, N.L., and somewhere in Saskatchewan.
"We're exceedingly excited to have one of the winners be in Atlantic Canada," said Courtney Pringle, a spokeswoman with the Atlantic Lottery Corp., in an interview Saturday from Moncton, N.B.
"This is not the first time Happy Valley Goose Bay has seen a major win. In fact, less than a week ago we handed out another major prize there," she said.
In a draw on June 18, Bob Janes, a resident of the community of roughly 7,600 people, won $500,000 in a Lotto Maxmillions draw. Friday's Lotto Max jackpot swelled to $50 million and sent ticket buyers scurrying to kiosks across the country after two previous draws failed to produce any winning tickets.
It wasn't all bad news for Manitoba. Two tickets purchased in the province were Maxmillions winners, according to the Western Canada Lottery Corp.'s website.
As of Saturday afternoon, the holder of the winning ticket hadn't yet come forward in Newfoundland, Pringle said.
Kevin van Egdom, a spokesman with the Western Canada Lottery Corp. in Stettler, Alta., confirmed the winning ticket in Saskatchewan was not sold in either Regina or Saskatoon. He said their policy is not to reveal where the winning ticket was sold until the ticket holder comes forward to one of their offices. The earliest that might happen would be on Monday during regular business hours, van Egdom said.
When Canada's latest multimillionaire does surface in Newfoundland, the lottery corporation will conduct an investigation to confirm the winnings are rightfully his or hers, said Pringle. While some lottery winners religiously check their numbers the day after a jackpot draw, others can take their time, Pringle said.
"We have players come forward with winning tickets that they've had the ticket in their possession for months and had no idea they were the winner," she said. "Sometimes people know right away and decide to sit on it for a month or so to make some decisions on what they're going to do with the money."
In her experience, lottery winners often want to pay off their mortgages, buy new vehicles — often a truck — and go on expensive vacations. But some have even used their new wealth to fund their dream wedding, Pringle said.
After meeting several newly minted millionaires during her career, Pringle said it's often when lottery winners are handed a small bank cheque for their winnings the reality of their financial windfall hits them.
"They're holding it in their hands and they say, 'It's starting to sink in now, it's starting to feel real.' It takes some time for people."
Over 40 winning tickets from across Canada were also drawn on Friday in the Lotto Maxmillions, with ticket holders sharing in prizes of up to $1 million each, said Jennifer Dalton, another spokeswoman with the lottery agency in Atlantic Canada.
Twenty Maxmillions draws were not won on Friday, so will be rolled into the next Lotto Max draw on July 2. That jackpot will be worth an estimated $30 million.
