“Friends always thought I’d win big": Lottery player overwhelmed by $1M prize

Lottery player Gordon Troy had no idea a routine trip to the store to pick up a newspaper would change his life forever.

The father and grandfather is no newbie to winning smaller prizes in the lottery. But on May 23, his luck changed for the best when he won $1 million in a Lotto Max draw.

During his visit to a Pro One Stop in Stirling, Ontario, Troy asked the store clerk to check his lottery ticket. Not expecting something significant, he got busy picking up mints.

That’s when he heard the machine go off.

“I asked, ‘Did I win?’ and the clerk said I might have won $10,000,” the lottery player recounted while at the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto. “I was so overwhelmed I had to sit down. Then, the store owner told me I won $1 million!”

When he went home to tell his wife, he could barely contain his excitement. “I was shaking when I told her!” he said, adding that he had to take a bit to settle down and compose himself.

“My wife is my best friend – this is so meaningful for us. This win has changed my life,” he shared. “I had friends who always thought I’d win big. They say it couldn’t have happened to a better person.”

The couple plans on investing the prize money and planning a bright future with it.

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• Two winners from opposite ends of Canada split $70M lottery prize

Two other Canadians became multimillionaires on Tuesday, June 6, winning and splitting the massive LottoMax jackpot of $70 million.

One of these lucky winners is from Windsor, Ontario, and the other is from Victoria, BC. Each took home a life-changing amount — $35 million.

There were also 15 Maximillion prizes to win, and several lottery players have become millionaires.

Will you be trying your luck anytime soon?