Canadian wishes he could celebrate huge Lotto Max win with late daughter
It was a bittersweet Lotto Max win for an Ontario lottery player.
London resident Robert Harmsworth said “yes” to Encore, and it paid off. He matched the last six of seven Encore numbers in exact order in the Feb. 18, 2025, Lotto Max draw to win $100,000.
Harmsworth is self-employed and has been playing the lottery with Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) for decades. His favourite games are Lotto Max and Lotto 6/49. He uses OLG’s Quick Pick feature to make his selections and always says “yes” to Encore.
OLG
The father of three and grandfather of three shared the amazing story of how he discovered his first big win. It turns out 13 is a lucky number for him.
“I’d walked to the corner store to use their ticket checker. I had 14 tickets to check, and one by one, they came up as non-winners — until I got to the 13th — a Free Play win,” Harmsworth recounted, while visiting the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto to collect his winnings.
“I’ll admit, I was frustrated and almost gave up on continuing to play when I scanned my last ticket. And there it was — a big winner!”
He says he didn’t have his reading glasses with him, so he couldn’t make out how much he had actually won.
“I handed my ticket to the store clerk, and she confirmed the amount. I nearly passed out!” Harmsworth chuckled. “It felt like a dream! I was left in disbelief, and to this day, it still doesn’t feel real.”
The dad has shared the news with family members and a few friends, but there’s one person he really wishes he could celebrate the Lotto Max win with.
“This win has also come with some hard moments. I lost my daughter in 2017, and I would do anything to see her again. She would have been so happy for me,” he said.
Harmsworth has some important plans with his lottery windfall. He plans to share it with his children, invest, and maybe treat himself to a new watch.
He bought the not-so-unlucky number 13 ticket at Pioneer/On the Run on Dundas Street in London.
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