Last week, Canada met its latest lottery-minted multi-millionaire, as the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation announced the winner of a major Lotto Max jackpot. The caregiver from Markham, Lai Ching Yau received her CA$60-million cheque from the Crown agency, as her ticket was drawn as the winning one in the January 17, 2023 draw of the game.
As a nationwide lottery offering, Lotto Max is a fan-favourite game across the country, which offers some substantial cash rewards. It is drawn twice per week, once on Tuesday, and once on Friday. Its players have a chance of winning an accumulative jackpot which can rise to CA$70 million, or get a chance of one of the many Maxmillion prizes worth a hefty CA$1 million.
Still in Disbelief
Similar to all major lottery winners from the country, Ms. Yau was also and is still in disbelief that she had won such an amazing prize of CA$60 million. While at an OLG prize centre, the winner shared that upon discovering the news, her body went numb and her mind went blank, and she was not able to think or feel anything.
She shared that she needed help from her family to confirm the major winning, and sent them a screenshot of the jackpot win from the OLG app. After confirming the prizemoney, she had to sign the ticket, but she said she had trouble doing so as her hands were shaking from excitement and shock after the news of the massive Lotto Max winning.
Furthermore, Ms. Yau commented that the shock continued when she arrived at the store to validate her life-changing ticket, and she even had to leave before being able to do so. The store’s clerk had to flag her down through the window. The winner also said that the amazing win brought her family to happy tears once they all met in person.
With the life-changing windfall, she plans to take her family out on a nice dinner where they will discuss plans on how to use the winnings. Some of the initial ideas are to go on a holiday and buy a new property. For now, she will relax and let the win settle, but lastly, she shared that she felt incredibly lucky to be in these unbelievable circumstances.
Ontario Claims More Winnings
Over the last year, Ontarians have already cashed out on some stunning windfalls in Lotto Max. This includes the 83-year-old mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother from Vankleek Hill – Vera Page who won a whooping CA$60 million in the November 1, 2022 draw. She is a consistent lottery player for almost 40 years and her luck finally paid off.
A more recent winning of a major Lotto Max prize in the province includes the case of Camellia Kazemi Talachi from Richmond Hill. She is also a winner of a CA$60 million jackpot, and her ticket was drawn as the sole winner in the November 29, 2022 draw of the game. However, she claimed the money this January. The winning ticket was purchased at Bayview Kitchen Food Fair on Bayview Avenue in Richmond Hill
Source: Djan, Edward “Markham caregiver becomes multimillionaire winning $60M Lotto Max jackpot” Toronto Star, March 3, 2023
