$10 million Lotto Max jackpot had been won in Vancouver. James Russell matched all seven numbers from the October 29, 2019 draw. He is the second British Columbian who won an 8-digit prize within the last two weeks.

Russell purchased his winning ticket after his regular walk in the park with his dogs. When he found out he had won, he doubles, and triple checked the numbers, but they did not change. He was quite shocked, but he said that he will get used to it.

He will be treating friends for dinner who came to visit him. He claimed not to be a material guy so instead of buying a luxury car which does not need his money anyway, he prefers to travel. He likes to visit Monet’s garden outside Paris and take a bike trip through Western Ireland. Though, he has no plans to take off anytime soon. He also wants to share his money to a non-profit organization.

On June 14, 2019, Lotto Max jackpot of $19 million was won by two lucky winners. One of the winners is from Winnipeg. Like most other winners, he had the same thought, “I could not believe what I saw”. Even though tickets are bought for the hope that it will win, no one is prepared when the time comes that the ticket wins, especially for the jackpot prize.

Don Humniski is a lottery enthusiast from Winnipeg is one of the two individuals who won the Lotto MAX jackpot of June 14. Those numbers were 4, 11, 20, 22, 37, 44, and 49. He redeemed a free play and picked up his winning ticket at Ford’s Grocery in Winnipeg Beach on his way to the family’s cottage.

He saw that a Manitoba ticket had won $9.5 million on the previous night and he said that wouldn’t it be funny if they won. He then checked his numbers a couple of minutes later and almost fell backwards into the ditch when he found out he had won. He called his wife and told her that she might have to call 9-1-1 for him. He was freaking out and shaking. He was completely stunned.  He felt like a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders.

Humniski plans included retirement and spending more time with his family. This goes the same for his wife. Their millions can easily provide for them with their financial needs.

OLG is still waiting for the other winner to come forward and claimed the other half of $19 million. This winner is from Ontario.

Gerry and Helen Phillips are grandparents to share their $26 million to their children and grandchildren. They started to play Lotto in the 1970’s and a little less than 50 years since playing, they finally hit the jackpot that will secure their future and even their grandchildren’s. They got all seven numbers from the August 6, 2019 draw: 19, 22, 28, 30, 36, 38, 39.

Another story of winning prize which had been used to buy another ticket that gave millions back. Gerry almost did not buy the winning ticket because the jackpot prize was not $50 million. Nevertheless, he opted to get a lucky pick after winning 2 free plays on another ticket. Gerry bought the winning ticket at the Shoppers Drug Mart on First Avenue in St. Thomas after his wife sent him out to buy milk and bread for their grandkids. He let the computer pick the numbers. When he looked at it, he didn’t like his chances — he usually played family birthdays. “There’s no way I would have picked that,” he said. “It’s all luck, there’s no skill involved.”

Gerry went out for breakfast with some of his grandchildren and passed by an OLG ticket checker, so he was reminded to check the ticket. When he saw the winnings on the checker, he thought he won $260,000. He double checked the ticket on his table when he got home and showed it to his wife. The couple were very ecstatic seeing ‘Congratulations, 26 million dollars!”

Helen was thankful thinking that their future, retirement and children, and everything else were going to be okay. They do not know exactly know what to do with their winnings. They will take 6 months to plan with the help of advisers and they will have a bucket list. Some of the plans they have are taking a cruise on February of next year, starting a foundation in honor of their dead son, David who was tragically taken from them after getting hit by a drunk driver 20 years ago, Helen retiring as a nurse, Gerry adding and updating his workshop, renovating their house, and best of all is securing their grandchildren’s education.

“Family is always a big priority in our life for us. Of course, we’ll be sharing it,” Helen said.