Jean Lamontagne wasn’t going to leave without saying goodbye.
Last Tuesday, the 60-year-old Montreal resident was at work when he decided to check his lottery tickets – which he purchased for a chance to win the grand Lotto Max prize of $80 million.
After he did so, he learned he was one of two winners to land half of that prize – a life-changing $40 million.
Lamontagne went to tell his bosses of the news, and that he’d be retiring earlier than planned. A few days later, he returned to work with a pizza lunch for his colleagues before he said farewell to work for good.
Those details were shared by Loto-Quebec in a news release Monday, in which they revealed Lamontagne as one of two grand prize winners in the Dec. 3 Lotto Max draw. The other winner, provincial lottery authorities said last week, is somewhere in Alberta.
The Dec. 3 jackpot reached $80 million after going unclaimed in previous draws. That figure aside, there were an estimated 29 Maxmillion prizes, valued at $1 million each, up for grabs. In Ontario, the provincial gaming authority said 664,790 Lotto Max tickets that were sold in the province won prizes, with the biggest prizes including five $1-million Maxmillion tickets.
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In Monday’s news release, Loto-Quebec described Lamontagne as a family man, and said the $40 million win will be essential in securing his family’s financial future. It added he would do that buy investing part of the win in real estate, and purchases multiplexes for his loved ones.
“He’s also looking to treat himself to a several-month-long European trip, making a cherished dream come true,” the release stated.
The odds of winning the Lotto Max jackpot sit at one in 33,294,800, according to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation.
According to PlayNow, which is B.C.’s lottery corporation, the most commonly drawn numbers since the Lotto Max switched to 50 numbers are 7, 19, 22, 32, 28, 32,36 and 46.
That is a far cry from the numbers that people are selecting since the most common numbers played are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7, which were selected by an average of 45,057 for each draw over the last year.
The next Lotto Max draw will be held on Dec. 10, and will offer an estimated $40-million jackpot.
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