SUDBURY — Marc Meilleur, of Noelville, says he had to check his winning ticket almost a dozen times before it sunk in that he had won $70 million.
Meilleur, 60, won the top Lotto Max prize in the Feb. 26 draw. He said he and his wife, Dorothy-Ann have been dedicated lottery players for many years. Each buys their own tickets to ensure they don’t miss a draw. Marc buys Quick Picks while his wife plays her own numbers, which consist of birth dates and anniversaries.
The morning after the draw, the retired mechanic checked his Quick Pick tickets on the OLG Lottery app when he saw “$70,000,000” displayed on the screen. Even after scanning the ticket four or five more times with the same result, he was still not convinced he had hit the Lotto Max jackpot.
“That’s when I went to the bedroom to get Dorothy-Ann and tell her, ‘I think I have the winning ticket,’” Meilleur said, while at the OLG Prize Centre to collect his prize. “But my wife thought I was joking, so I scanned the ticket again to show her the $70 million win on the screen.”
The couple participated in a virtual cheque presentation due to the COVID restrictions on public group gatherings in Toronto.