Bernard Morissette remembered to buy his ticket at the last minute and played his usual numbers, which won him half the record $80-million jackpot.
A man in his 80s from the Outaouais region has won half of the largest Lotto Max jackpot ever, claiming $40 million with his winning ticket.
Bernard Morissette almost forgot to buy a Lotto Max ticket earlier this week for the record $80 million jackpot, according to a Loto-Québec statement. Lotto Max is a lottery game co-ordinated by the Interprovincial Lottery Corporation. Draws are held every Tuesday and Friday. The prize starts at $10 million and grows by $10 million each week until it is won. The maximum jackpot was recently increased from $70 million to $80 million.
Morissette has been playing the Lotto Max game for several years and always chooses the same numbers, made up from dates that have significance to him, the statement said. It said that at about 9 p.m. on Sept. 17, Morissette remembered that he had not yet bought his ticket for the draw that evening, and that it was for a record jackpot. He hurried to connect to his online Loto-Québec account to buy a ticket.
A Loto-Québec employee called him the next day to give him the news. The organization said he yelled to his wife, “Rachel! We won $40 million! ” The employee asked him to verify the information on his online account, so that he could confirm that he really did win, and gave him an appointment to come to Loto-Québec headquarters.
Morissette then contacted his three children to tell them the news. They simply could not believe it, he said, and had to verify for themselves by looking at their father’s computer screen.
Morissette, a retired teacher, told Loto-Québec he plans to let the dust settle before deciding exactly what to do with his winnings. He said one thing for certain is that he will use some of the money to provide a safe financial future for his children.
“This is the first time a jackpot as big as $80 million has ever been offered in Canada,” said Isabelle Jean, executive vice president and head of operations at Loto-Québec. “We are happy that part of this historic jackpot was won here. The Lotto Max is one of the favourite lotteries among Quebecers. More than $3.7 billion has been won at this game in Quebec since it was launched.”
More than $100 million has been won in Quebec since the beginning of September, Loto-Québec said. On Sept. 2, a couple in the Quebec City region won a $50 million jackpot, while on Sept. 18 the classic jackpot was won by an online group.
Since the beginning of 2024, Loto-Québec has handed out 72 jackpots of $1 million, making 58 people millionaires.