"I'm baking, leave me alone": Retired Canadian couple wins $55M Halloween lottery draw
Jean Larocque and Catherine Ennis are brand new multimillionaires after winning a massive lottery jackpot on Halloween.
Larocque and Ennis have been together for 40 years and live in Estrie, Quebec. Larocque recalled how he’d just won a small amount in the Lotto Max draw, so he decided to use his winnings to buy a ticket for the October 31 draw. The jackpot: $55 million.
The day after the draw, he checked his ticket online and saw that the winning numbers for the Halloween draw were 22, 23, 25, 26, 35, 40, 44, and bonus number 33.
Larocque was stunned — he had matched all seven winning numbers.
Ennis said that she was in the middle of baking cookies when Larocque came in to tell her that they had just won $55 million.
“Jean was checking his tickets, which I don’t really pay attention to because it’s never happened before,” said Ennis while claiming their prize. “When he came in, he said, ‘Oh, you’ve got to come see — I won.'”
But since Larocque has a bit of a reputation as a jokester, Ennis didn’t immediately believe him.
“I said, ‘Oh yeah, Jean? I’m baking, leave me alone,” she said.
Loto-Québec
But when she saw the state Larocque was in, she became concerned.
“He was shaking, he was white, he was sweating, and I said, ‘Well, I’m going to see what the problem is,'” said Ennis.
The couple checked their ticket four times before it dawned on them: they were now $55 million richer.
That night, Larocque slept with his winning ticket in his pyjamas’ pocket. He hadn’t gotten much sleep since he woke up a few times in the middle of the night just to be sure it was still there.
The couple said they’ve always shared one car, but now they might buy a second vehicle. As for what they plan to do with their winnings, they’ll be using the money to spoil their loved ones and donate to causes that are important to them.
Larocque is a big fly-fishing enthusiast and wants to make a trip to Scotland.
“Luck favours Quebecers this fall, as we can see with the many big prizes that we have awarded to people here recently,” said Isabelle Jean, executive vice president and head of lottery operations at Loto-Québec. “We are proud to contribute to the community and allow families to carry out projects of all kinds.”
The couple’s winning ticket was purchased at Dépanneur JA at 244 rue Saint-Jean-Baptiste, Coaticook. This retailer will receive a commission of $550,000, equivalent to 1% of the winnings.