N.S. woman wins Maritimes' biggest lotto prize on ticket gifted by grandson

The long-anticipated winner of the Maritimes’ largest lottery prize has officially been announced.

Atlantic Lottery says the winner of the $31 million Lotto Max Draw ticket is 83-year-old Marie McCarthy of New Waterford, N.S. – the Cape Breton community where the ticket was sold.

The ticket was purchased at Needs Convenience on Emerald Street. The retailer will receive a one per cent seller's prize.

According to McCarthy, the ticket was given to her as a birthday gift on Jan. 31 by her grandson, Jeff.

She says she was in "total disbelief" after she and her grandson checked the numbers on the ticket. The reality of the win only started sinking in when she called Atlantic Lottery to validate the ticket.

“Jeff checked the ticket and he hollered down, ‘You got all the numbers,’ and I said, ‘Yeah, right,’” McCarthy said.

“He came running down the stairs with his phone out checking it and kept saying I had all the numbers.”

McCarthy says the win still doesn't seem real, adding it won't likely sink in until she sees her updated bank statement.

“I never really thought about a bucket list or anything before because I never figured I’d have the money to do anything on it," she said.

McCarthy comes from a large family, many of whom were present for her big announcement. She says some even travelled from as far as British Columbia and Alberta.

"I got 30-some cheques gone out already," said McCarthy. "People have got their mortgage paid off."

As far as McCarthy's plans moving forward, she says she will treat herself to a new-to-her vintage Cadillac.

She also plans to share a lot of the prize money with her loved ones, help her immediate family, brother and sisters, and pay off the mortgages of all her nieces and nephews.

"It feels good. They won't have the worries I did when I was having to pay for my house," she said.

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.

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