The wait is over, as the Lotto Max jackpot worth CA$70,000,000 has finally been claimed this week. According to the British Columbia Lottery Corporation, two ticket holders from Western Canada will share the staggering prize. One of the winners is from Kamloops in B.C. while the other one resides in Alberta. Each will take home CA$35 million.
Lotto Max is a major hit among lottery players, as for 2022 alone, local ticket holders claimed just over CA$802 million in prize money. These amounts were claimed from more than 100 million winning tickets, sold at retailers across the province or PlayNow.com. Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley collected the largest portion of the pool with CA$382.1 million.
Looking for the Two Big Winners
Players have also been cashing out through 2023 as well. In a recent press release, BCLC confirmed the jackpot of CA$70,000,000 from the Tuesday, July 25, 2023 draw has been activated by two ticket holders. The two players are from Kamloops, B.C. and Alberta. They have up to 52 weeks to contact their respective provincial lottery and claim the windfall.
However, the draw also gave away several other cash winnings, as eighty people from all around the country matched six of the seven winning numbers for the round. Each of those will take home CA$4,246, while another 196 tickets matched five of the seven numbers. Those ticket holders CA$1,040. Winning numbers from the draw were 15, 16, 17, 18, 43, 44, and 48 while the bonus was 50.
In addition to that, Tuesday’s draw also offered several Maxmillion prizes with 10 of them being won by 10 players across the country. Eight of those 10 players won CA$1 million each, with two of the tickets residing in Vancouver and Delta, B.C. Meanwhile, one Maxmillion tickets between two players from Shuswap and Ontario, each claiming a hefty CA$500,000.
More Lotto Max Highlights from B.C.
To this date, the largest recorder lottery wins in the province date back to September 2021, when Christine Lauzon took home a CA$70 million prize from Lotto Max. She chose her numbers through the Quick Pick option and she bought her ticket at the Shopper Drug Mart on Hastings Street in Burnaby. She discovered her win, by checking her ticket with the Crown’s Lotto! app.
Since then, British Columbians have also cashed out on other hefty winnings from Lotto Max. Just recently, a man from Vancouver Island won a Lotto Max jackpot worth CA$55 million. The winner was William Scott Gurney who is now part of the lottery-made multi-millionaires. His winning ticket matched the winning numbers in the February 28, 2023 draw.
Mr. Gurney claimed his mega prize on April 4, 2023, at a BCLC award centre. The Sidney resident who works as a bookkeeper is now looking for someone to take care of his clients as he plans to take a break. With the prize money, he plans to help his family financially and purchase a property on Vancouver Island.
Source: Potenteau, Doyle “Lotto Max ticket in B.C. splits $70 million jackpot” Global News, July 26, 2023