Two people in Quebec have won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot.
Jacques Deschamps, a Montérégie resident, and Wilhelmina Van Leeuwen from Montreal will be splitting the cheque and taking home $35 million each.
A press release from Loto-Quebec says Deschamps had the morning of a lifetime on Saturday when he woke up early and checked the results form the July 11 draw while having his coffee.
The release says he first thought he won $3,500, then $35,000.
He then asked his wife to check the ticket.
“You won $35 million,” she told her husband in shock.
The release says Deschamps hurried to send a picture of the ticket to his son, who was still sleeping.
The couple grew impatient and called their son’s home, asking their daughter-in-law to wake him up so they could share the stunning news.
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The release says Deschamps is a regular purchaser of lotto tickets.
Deschamps is in his 60s and owns his own construction company, which he says he will now get his son to run now that he can retire.
He bought his ticket at the Chanteclerc convenience store at 290 Jacques-Cartier St. in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield. The retailer will receive a one per cent commission of $350,000.
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Less is known about Van Leeuwen, as Loto-Quebec said it was searching for her to come forward until they finally tracked her down Wednesday morning.
She is a Dutch woman in her 70s who has been living in Montreal for over 30 years. She worked as a technician at Bell Canada, but has been retired for the last 20 years.
She told Global News she might go back to her home country of the Netherlands twice a year now instead of once, and said she may even fly first class.
She said she purchased her ticket at a convenience store in Montreal’s Gay Village.
This is the second time in a matter of weeks that the Lotto Max jackpot has been won in Quebec.
In June, a group of 15 car dealership workers in Trois-Rivières became millionaires after winning the $20 million Lotto Max.
The winner of Canada’s largest lottery won the $80-million Lotto Max jackpot on May 9 in British Columbia. This is the largest lottery jackpot ever won by a single individual in Canada.
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