New Canadian multimillionaire thought Lotto 6/49 win was a scam at first

A lotto win so big, it seemed too good to be true.

That’s how Ryoichi Yamada of North Vancouver, BC, felt when he first received a notification that he won a prize on PlayNow.com.

“I was working and got an email,” explained Yamada. “[The email] said I won a prize and it exceeded the amount in my account and I thought it was a scam.

“I logged onto my [PlayNow.com] account and realized there were a lot of numbers in there. I started shaking.”

Those numbers added up to $2.5 million because he split the $5 million Lotto 6/49 Classic Jackpot from the August 16, 2023, draw with a player from Ontario.

@atlanticlottery/Instagram

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The Lower Mainland resident chose his own numbers for the winning ticket as part of a PlayNow.com Lotto Subscription and was most excited to tell his wife the good news.

“She asked if I won $10 and I said a little more,” Yamada shared. “I showed her the amount and she was speechless.”

He added that he will take some time to decide what to do with the prize money and that a trip back home to Japan, as well as purchasing property, is on his to-do list.

“That’s a lot of money,” Yamada said.