ORILLIA, Ont. – A 75-year-old Orillia, Ont., man is the sole winner of Friday’s Lotto Max jackpot, taking home more than $20 million.
John E. Mason, a retired electrician, picked up the cheque on Monday.
Mason says he has been playing the same numbers for years, but it was a Quick Pick selection of random numbers that won him the top prize.
An avid fisher and boater, Mason says he plans to buy a waterfront home and a new car, travel south for the winter and help out his relatives.
Mason says he routinely bikes to his local store each Saturday morning to pick up a newspaper and print out the week’s winning numbers.
But he says when he got home this time, he began circling the matching numbers and realized he had every number.
“I got out my magnifying glass to make sure I was seeing everything correctly,” Mason said.
“Holy mackerel, I thought, I just won the jackpot!”
After signing the winning ticket, Mason says he grabbed a cab back to the store to validate it.
“All the bells and whistles went off,” he said. “I was shocked and overwhelmed but I even remembered to give a $100 tip to both the store clerk and taxi driver for their help.”
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