BADDECK, N.S. -- A lottery player in Nova Scotia won Saturday night’s $17.4-million Lotto 649 jackpot, but the identity of the winner remains a mystery in Victoria County, where the ticket was sold.
When Warren Tobin heard there was a Cape Breton winner, he checked his ticket right away.
“The first three numbers I actually had and so I said, 'Oh God, it might have been me,’” says Tobin.
“I was very happy to see it happen here.”
Atlantic Lottery says a person who believes they have the winning ticket has come forward, but the organization says they are unable to share details on the potential winner until their security process is complete.
“It is the second-largest prize ever won in Nova Scotia,” says Lindsay Meekins, communications counsel for Atlantic Lottery.
“There was a Lotto 649 jackpot, won back in 2007, which was worth $17.5 million and that's the largest ever.”
Victoria County warden Bruce Morrison says he’s heard lots of talk about who the potential winner could be, but, so far, their identity remains a mystery.
“Whoever has won it has been very quiet. We're not sure if it was a local or a visitor who may have come through any of the communities in Victoria County,” says Morrison.
Monday afternoon, 101.5 The Hawk, a radio station in Port Hawkesbury, N.S., made a Facebook post claiming the winning ticket was sold at a store in Cape North on Saturday.
While Atlantic Lottery has yet to confirm, Meekins says someone in the county is guaranteed to profit from the win.
“Every lottery prize that is sold at retail, that retail gets one per cent of the winning prize amount. So that much, for sure, will stay within the community,” says Meekins.
