Lottery enthusiasts across Ontario make their potentially lucky purchases on a daily basis and many of them stick to a particular lotto offering at all times. Michael Butt is a Lotto 6/49 fan who has been purchasing the same tickets for years, but back in April the cashier mistakenly printed him a Lotto MAX ticket instead. It ended up changing his life.
The lottery enthusiast hailing from Combermere has been purchasing Lotto 6/49 tickets for years now and he was determined to buy the regular ticket ahead of the April 7 draw. What ended up happening instead was that the cashier taking care of the draw-based lottery tickets printed him a Lotto MAX ticket instead. This resulted in a cash payout of CA$1 million.
Lotto MAX Maxmillions
However, at the time of the ticket purchase, the lottery fan was not aware of what was to come. He simply bagged the ticket and looked forward to the upcoming draw. The universe had bigger plans for the 82-year-old lottery fan, as his ticket managed to match the number combination drawn in the additional draw coming with the Lotto MAX game. This resulted in a cash payout of CA$1 million.
The Maxmillions prize coming with every Lotto MAX draw was meant to go to Mr. Butt and this mistake was the triggering point. Canada’s latest lottery millionaire recently bagged his substantial prize and shared his thoughts on the subject. Mr. Butt stated that nothing of this would have been possible without the mistake made by the retail location cashier.
It should be taken into account that the point of sale is now eligible for a one-percent slice of the overall jackpot and the cashier is going to eventually be rewarded for the slight mistake he had made. Mr. Butt also pointed out that he tipped the cashier once he made his way there to validate the ticket.
Players Claim Cash
Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation closed its prize claiming location mid-March, in order to protect both lottery jackpot winners and corporation staff members. This has stopped players from receiving their larger cash payouts. The Crown corporation made it impossible for players to claim their prizes if they surpass the CA$50,000 mark. Following a collaboration with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission, the limit for a prize that could be sent via mail was increased to CA$49,999.90.
Up until this point, the limit for mail-in prize claim was set to CA$9,999.90 and only players eligible for a prize below this point had the right to receive their cash prize in the mail. Now Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation allows claiming tickets over CA$50,000 in-person.
Winners of lottery prizes bigger than that have to contact the lottery corporation in a timely manner. The Toronto-based prize center is going to work with appointments only. Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation welcomes the winners and interviews them about everything around the ticket purchase and the way they found out about the jackpot.
