Marc Meilleur, a 60-year-old retired mechanic from northern Ontario was sure that he was seeing things when his Lotto Max ticket came up with all winning numbers.
According to Meilleur, he checked the ticket almost a dozen times before it began to dawn on him that may now be rich literally beyond his wildest dreams. With the win, he had successfully secured the $70-million jackpot prize from the Feb. 26 Lotto Max draw. This comes hot on the wheels of Lotto Max tracing a recent $60-million dollar winner.
In a state of disbelief he found his wife, Dorothy-Ann, to tentatively tell her the good news.
“My wife thought I was joking, I scanned the ticket again to show her the $70-million win on the screen,” Meilleur said in a statement.
After checking the numbers herself, his wife confirmed the win and the couple headed to David N. Street in Noelville, Ont to the Mayer Services Esso, where Meilleur purchased the ticket.
The owner of the gas station is a friend of the Meilleurs and gladly waited for all the other customers to leave the store before validating the ticket this action alerted a Play OLG representative who called the store owner and Meilleur.
“I started crying tears of joy,” Mrs Meilleur recalled.
The couple couldn’t wait to share the news with family, calling their daughter in the Sudbury area first and texting their two sons afterwards. The Meilleurs have a large family that includes seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
“As a parent, you want to provide the best for your children, and now we can take care of them without worry. We want them to be able to buy new homes and vehicles, but we also have a great team of financial advisers helping all of us set up the grandchildren and great grandchildren for future success,” said Meilleur.
The couple’s plans involve buying a new truck and RV, travelling across Canada once it’s safe to do so and purchasing their dream home Sudbury region. Aside from that, they plan on lending aid to several charities and institutions that they feel are most deserving.
Meilleur elaborated as to why there was no international travel in their plans, saying, “I am not a big fan of flying across the ocean, so I want to drive and see all of the country which I love, starting on the east coast, there are so many beautiful areas to discover all over this amazing country.”
The couple has been a dedicated lottery playing team for years, and they made sure to purchase separate tickets each time to ensure they never missed a draw.
