"She told me to put my glasses on": Five Ontario and Quebec coworkers share $1M lottery win

The end of the year will no doubt be a memorable one for a group that won the lottery.

The five coworkers from eastern Ontario and Quebec said that they play the lottery together every month. After buying a Lotto Max ticket in October, Shawn Cassidy, a resident of Ashton, Ontario, said that his wife checked the results of the draw.

And that’s when she discovered that the group had won big.

“She told me to put my glasses on and look,” said Cassidy.

The group had won the Maxmillions prize worth $1 million in the October 18 draw, making each group member $200,000 richer.

Irish Mae Silvestre/Daily Hive

When Quebec resident Jean-Marc David heard the group had won, he refused to believe it.

“I thought it was a joke,” said David, while at the OLG Prize Centre to pick up the group’s big cheque. “I told my wife, and she was in shock. She jumped and screamed with excitement.”

In addition to David and Cassidy, other group members include John Bain of Spencerville, Steven Allen of Ottawa, and Sylvain Proulx of Quebec.

Cassidy and David already have plans for their money: they plan to use their share of the winnings to pay bills.

The group’s winning ticket was purchased at Mitchell’s Your Independent Grocer on McNeely Avenue in Carleton Place.