Canadian grandmother wins $55 million Lotto Max jackpot

Jun 11, 2020, 6:19 pm (14 comments)

Canada Lotto Max

Largest lottery jackpot ever claimed in Northwest Territories

By Kate Northrop

A grandmother in Canada's Northwest Territories was stunned by her $55 million (US$40 million) Lotto Max win, but managed to make all the right moves in claiming her prize.

On May 1st, Laura Tutcho had purchased her lottery tickets, but she was not watching for her numbers to come up. It wasn't until her granddaughter alerted her that someone from Yellowknife had won the lottery when she decided to hop on the Internet and check her numbers.

Tutcho recalled being in shock and beside herself after discovering that her numbers matched. She immediately called her grandchildren to tell them the news, and they rushed over to her. Upon seeing her, her grandson asked, "Are you all right, Grandma?"

"I just kept looking at the ticket and looking back at the numbers," she said. "My granddaughter told me, 'The numbers haven't changed, Grandma!'"

Tutcho was the only player to match all seven main winning numbers in the draw — 3, 12, 25, 36, 37, 42, and 49 — making her the Northwest Territories' largest lottery jackpot winner ever.

Remarkably, these were not her usual numbers. She won the lottery on a $11 quick pick ticket with randomly generated numbers.  The winning ticket was purchased from the Reddi Mart convenience store in Yellowknife.

After an overwhelming week of sitting on the ticket and repeatedly checking the numbers, Tutcho gathered her bearings and sought advice from the Western Canada Lottery Corporation to understand the next steps.

First, she called the lottery for some hypothetical advice without revealing that she was a winner. "What do you do if you won?" she asked.

Their recommendation for Tutcho was that, if she did win, she should take proper steps to secure her own privacy. It would be in her best interest to keep quiet about the win, leave her small town, and head to a larger city. This would also allow her the much-needed opportunity to consult lawyers and financial advisers who would help her prepare for her new status as a millionaire.

After that, Tutcho followed the advice very closely. She asked those who already knew the news to keep quiet until the WCLC made a public announcement about her win. She headed to Calgary, disguising her absence as a fishing trip to a cabin so the rest of her family would not be suspicious. There, she hired a lawyer and an accountant.

In her meeting with the lawyer, she was finally able to relinquish possession of the winning lottery ticket to begin the process of claiming the prize.

"It was a relief," Tutcho recalled.

Once the lawyer officially confirmed with the lottery corporation that Tutcho was indeed the winner of the $55 million jackpot, she endured about a month's worth of meetings with professionals to sort out other financial matters to do with taxes and investments.

"It's like a job," she said. "It was just too much. I was just exhausted."

Currently, her winnings are invested. She also says that she is on what she called an allowance, citing that "it has something to do with the taxes."

Tutcho finally ended her prolonged absence from Yellowknife to be present for her granddaughter's graduation and her grandson's "farewell ceremony." Upon her return, she entered a mandatory 14-day COVID-19 quarantine required for anyone coming to the Northwest Territories from outside the province.

Since the WCLC publicly announced her win on June 1, phone calls flooded her line, particularly from the media asking for interviews. Of those callers, Tutcho specifically turned down requests from a few Alberta news organizations.

"The first people that are getting interviews are going to be people from the Northwest Territories," she stated.

Tutcho does not plan on spending her money on anything frivolous, rather she wants to use the money to help her immediate family. As a member of the Déline First Nation, she said her only plans are to return to Déline to do some fishing. She dedicated her career to revitalizing the Sahtúgot'i?ne language as a freelance interpreter.

News story photo(Click to display full-size in gallery)

Lottery Post Staff

Comments

Bleudog101

Keep quiet about your win.   Sure plaster her name and photo everywhere.

 

Anyway back to the point of this article...Congratulations on your big win.   Your Granddaughter sounds like a hoot; I'm sure many winners keep looking @ the ticket over and over again!

Unlucky-Kenny's avatarUnlucky-Kenny

Quote: Originally posted by Bleudog101 on Jun 11, 2020

Keep quiet about your win.   Sure plaster her name and photo everywhere.

 

Anyway back to the point of this article...Congratulations on your big win.   Your Granddaughter sounds like a hoot; I'm sure many winners keep looking @ the ticket over and over again!

LOL

I thought the same thing "following the advice to keep it quiet"

I wish my state allowed being anonymous - 

 

Congrats to the winner for that big win.

Yes Nod

ekem6078's avatarekem6078

Seem to me the best ways of winning these big prize lottery games, is to buy it at the last minute, put it up somewhere and forget to check it.  That's what I'm going to do next time.  But it'll be my luck I'll put it up somewhere and forget where I put the darn thing. Green laugh Congrats to you Ms. Tutcho      Happy Winnings.

Raven62's avatarRaven62

Party Congrats to the Winner! Party

L J1's avatarL J1

Wow...

Not her usual numbers as the article states. Another quick pick ticket with RNG numbers.

The one nice thing about Canada Lotteries from what I understand is, All Jackpot Winnings are Tax Free.

Congratulations to you Gramma!

Such a Great story.

music*'s avatarmusic*

Quote: Originally posted by L J1 on Jun 12, 2020

Wow...

Not her usual numbers as the article states. Another quick pick ticket with RNG numbers.

The one nice thing about Canada Lotteries from what I understand is, All Jackpot Winnings are Tax Free.

Congratulations to you Gramma!

Such a Great story.

Yes, LJ1, Canada does not tax lottery winnings. She lives in the North West Territories so taxes may be different there. 

  It is a good thing that her family kept quiet after she told them the wonderful news. Then swore them to secrecy.

  You never know when you will win. 

noise-gate

Thank Heavens for little girls- both Old & Young. Grandma is in the house, she calls the shots from now on.

* On a side note: This " Man of God" Archbishop Vigano is unstable. Apart from accusing Pope Francis of unsavory behavior, this MOG was ordered by the courts to repay his brother millions of dollars because of his own corruption.

maximumfun's avatarmaximumfun

Congratulations to Laura!  That would be a delightful 'get'.  Love the plan to go fishing as a top priority... as well as working to revitalize her Nation's language.  Sounds like her plans are pretty solid.  Nice going Laura!

db101's avatardb101

Wonderful win for her and her people. I hope she has a long life to enjoy it with her family.

HaveABall's avatarHaveABall

Another astounded and  happy winner! Group Hug

Yet, reads like she is confused about taxes on all investments. Perhaps her financial advisor recommended her to solely live off the after-taxed interest from investments each year.

music*'s avatarmusic*

Quote: Originally posted by maximumfun on Jun 12, 2020

Congratulations to Laura!  That would be a delightful 'get'.  Love the plan to go fishing as a top priority... as well as working to revitalize her Nation's language.  Sounds like her plans are pretty solid.  Nice going Laura!

I Agree! Language and the spoken word are powerful.

dera123

congrats

dannyct

Do Canadian lottery winners have the right to remain anonymous?

noise-gate

Quote: Originally posted by dannyct on Jun 14, 2020

Do Canadian lottery winners have the right to remain anonymous?

Google search revealed this Danny Boy.

No privacy for lottery winners in Canada
Provincial lottery corporations have rules that require winners to publicly disclose their identity and take part in lottery public relations activities, such as having their photo taken with an oversized cheque.May 23, 2018

hullandhull.com › 2018/05
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