$31-million lottery ticket sold in Cape Breton, largest win ever in the Maritimes
Atlantic Lottery says someone in Cape Breton has a record-breaking, multimillion-dollar winning lottery ticket.
The winning ticket from Tuesday’s Lotto Max draw was sold in New Waterford, N.S., according to a press release early Wednesday morning.
The ticket is worth $31 million.
According to Atlantic Lottery, it is the largest lotto win ever in Nova Scotia and the Maritimes.
Greg Weston, a communication strategist with Atlantic Lottery, says the news is “exciting.”
“It’s what everyone’s talking about here today in the office … it’s a really big deal and we’re all really excited. Basically, it’s the word of the day,” he said during an interview with CTV’s Amanda Debison.
He adds that the odds of winning the Lotto Max jackpot are 1 in 33,294,800.
Atlantic Lottery says the largest prize ever won in Atlantic Canada was $60 million in Newfoundland and Labrador in February 2018.
In 2020, a Cape Breton couple won $17.4 million in a Lotto 6/49 jackpot. Raymond and Gaye Lillington of Dingwall, N.S., also won another jackpot worth $3.2 million seven years earlier.
Weston says it didn’t take long to confirm the previous lottery wins to the latest record-breaking ticket.
“We just had to dig and make sure that this one was bigger than the existing record … so it really is a big jump when you get to numbers like that. It doesn’t take too long to verify that it’s a big one.”
Atlantic Lottery says details on the prizewinner, or winners, and store location, will be released once they come forward and the win is confirmed.
If the prize is awarded successfully, the business where the ticket was purchased would receive a one-per-cent seller’s prize.
As of noon Wednesday, the winner had not come forward.
“We haven’t heard from the winner yet, but obviously we’re ready and willing to take their call and we’re definitely looking forward to hearing from them,” said Weston.
Atlantic Lottery recommends winners sign the back of their ticket.
“That proves that it’s theirs and it establishes their ownership of it, so that’s always a good idea. Then the second thing is to reach out to us when they’re ready,” says Weston. “From then, they’ll get put in touch with our winners team and begin the claim process. That’ll take them through, we’ll set up an appointment with them and they’ll meet with one of our winners team and guide them through how they can claim their prize.”
If someone believes they have the winning ticket they can contact the Atlantic Lottery Customer Care Centre at 1-800-561-3942 or INFO@ALC.CA
As for whether a big cheque is ready to present to the winner?
“We’ve always got a stack of them ready and willing to go for all of our winners – $30 million, $31 million, right on down to smaller prizes – but we haven’t filled it out yet,” Weston says. “We’ll wait until we hear from the lucky winner before we do that.”
Speculations of who won the jackpot were already making their way around the area.
"Everybody is getting texts. There's a lot of different names flying around, but I'm sure we will know by tomorrow," said one person on Wednesday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
B.C. theatre to pay $55K to neurodivergent actor in discrimination case
British Columbia's human rights tribunal has awarded a neurodigergent actor, who was diagnosed with sensory and learning disorders, more than $55,000 after finding that a Kelowna theatre company discriminated against him because of his disabilities.
Who's responsible for regulating cannabis stores operating under the sovereignty banner?
It's not quite clear who is supposed to be regulating so-called sovereign cannabis stores or even ensure they're benefiting Indigenous communities.