"Saw my life pass before my eyes": Lottery winner shaken up by $60 million jackpot

Jan 20 2023, 4:27 pm

A lottery player from Ontario got the shock of her life when she found out she hit the jackpot — a hefty prize of $60 million.

Camellia Kazemi Talachi, who works in sales in Richmond Hill, has become a multimillionaire after winning the $60 million Lotto Max Jackpot, drawn on November 29 last year, and she wants to put the money to good use.

The winner collected her prize cheque at the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto. She bought the ticket at the Bayview Kitchen Food Fair on Bayview Avenue in Richmond Hill.

lottery jackpot

OLG

“I stopped at a gas station and decided to check my Lotto Max ticket, unaware the $60 million winning ticket was sold in Richmond Hill,” Talachi said. “I gave my ticket to the clerk, and when the winning jingle started playing, I knew I won something but didn’t know how much until OLG called the store and told me it was $60 million!”

Talachi has been playing the lottery for four years and usually picks her own numbers. This time, however, it was QuickPicks numbers that landed her the massive win. She was overwhelmed with emotion and began crying as soon as she found out.

“I saw my life pass before my eyes as I stood there in shock,” Talachi told OLG. “I kept thinking, ‘Is this real?’ I couldn’t concentrate and started to shake.”

The clerk at the store helped calm her down so she could head back to her car and drive to her mom without worrying her.

“I stopped to pray for a moment and then, what felt like an out of body experience, I said the words, ‘I am the big lottery winner in Richmond Hill!’” the winner recalled. “My sister thought I was kidding. But when I started jumping up and down and cheering, she started to do the same. The entire family was overjoyed for me!”

Talachi wants to share the lottery jackpot with her community.

“I want to be an entrepreneur and create jobs, but I need to take the time to figure out how to do this sustainably.”

The sales worker plans on travelling with her family. As an art aficionado, she also wants to see historic works of art around the world.

“This seems so surreal. It’s a blend of happiness filled with wonderful possibilities of the unknown!”

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