Canada’s latest lottery millionaire has been revealed yesterday. According to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, the 29-year old Ginno Torres is the second winner of the CA$70 million Lotto Max jackpot. Mr. Torres from Toronto split the major prize from the June 22 draw with a British Columbia ticket holder, both claiming CA$35 million.
To many people, Lotto Max is the most rewarding and popular draw-based game in Canada. Every year, lottery players win hundreds of millions of dollars while participating in the game of luck. Each week residents have two chances to win the major Lotto Max jackpot along with other cash prizes as there are draws on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Toronto Winner
Mr. Torres has been drawn as one of the winners of the main prize in the June 22 draw of the game, however, he managed to keep it as a secret up until obtaining his check from the Crown agency. According to the winner, who is also a recent college graduate he wanted to acquire the prize first and then share it with his friends and family.
The winner explained that a few days after the draw he went to a local store in his neighborhood to check his ticket and he initially thought that he had won CA$35,000. However, after checking again at the next store he realized that the sum was actually CA$35,000,000. He shared that back then his stomach was in knots and by going to another store to validate the ticket, the winning bell went off.
Additionally, the winner shared some of his plans on what to do with the major prize. He said that he will be helping out his family with money and that he plans on making some investments for the future. He also plans on putting some of the money into charity, redesign his home, and travel around the country and the world once it is safe to do so.
The Other Winner
The other half of the whooping CA$70 million Lotto Max jackpot was won in British Columbia. The identity of the winner is the semi-retired truck driver Gary Hill from Kamloops, BC. After arriving at a BCLC office Mr. Hill claimed the impressive amount of CA$35 million, and he shared that he is not quite sure how he will spend the major winning, he said that he will certainly find a good use for it.
Maxmillion Prize
Ha Nguyen from Vancouver is one of the latest lottery players to benefit from the Lotto Max game. The lucky ticket-holder has been drawn as the winner of a Maxmillion prize, worth CA$1 million. Ms. Nguyen said that the life-changing award she plans on spending money for a new condo and take care of her children.
Previous Winner
At the end of July, the Lotto Max jackpot was won once again. According to information from the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation the CA$44,023,273.40 jackpot was won from a ticket holder residing in Toronto, Ontario. The faithful draw of the game was on July 20, 2021, and the winning numbers for the jackpot were 2, 13, 15, 19, 38, 39, 46. However, the name of the lucky lotto player is still not revealed.
Source: Rocca, Ryan “29-year-old Toronto lottery winner kept $35M win secret amid disbelief”, Global News, August 9, 2021
