"Is this a $100,000 prize?" Computer engineer wins lottery

Why do people play the lottery? For some, it’s for the pure thrill and the tiny hope of winning big and retiring early. But dreaming about winning is one thing — some people don’t actually believe that it can happen to them. Until it does.

Robert Hayter, a resident of Kanata, Ontario, said that playing the lottery is part of his regular routine and his favourite games are Lottario and Instant tickets.

The 54-year-old computer engineer recalls how he was drinking his coffee one morning and scratching his ticket like he often does when something made him pause.

“I was looking over my ticket when I thought, ‘Is this a $100,000 prize?’” he said.

Robert Hayter/OLG

It wasn’t actually $100,000. Hayter was stunned to learn that he had in fact won the Instant X top prize, making him $1 million richer.

“I’m a very skeptical person,” he said. “I thought, ‘What are the odds of me winning $1 million?’ But it was true… I won $1 million!”

While at the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto to pick up his massive cheque, Hayter said that this is his first big win. He also shared his plans now that he has $1 million in his bank account: he’ll be investing his money for the future and will be using some of it to buy a brand new laptop.

He added, “I might also order some books to read.”

The winning ticket was purchased at Metro on Carling Avenue in Kanata.