“Immediate retirement” is among the plans for a Toronto man who recently won a $30-million Lotto Max prize, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) says.
Fifty-six-year-old Patrick Hale, a building supervisor, won the Feb. 4 jackpot.
Hale picked one line of numbers, but it was a quick pick line that was the winner, OLG said.
“It was 6 a.m. and I was checking a few tickets, comparing my numbers against the winning numbers on OLG.ca. As I matched the numbers, I said to myself, ‘I won the lottery,’” Hale said in an OLG release.
“I woke up my wife to tell her and she didn’t say anything. She didn’t believe me – she still doesn’t … I just kept repeating, ‘I won the lottery’ and sat there feeling numb. My stomach was in knots.”
Hale said sharing the news with family and friends was an “emotional experience,” with them telling him that “having this money wouldn’t change who I am as a person.”
OLG said Hale’s plans after the win include his “immediate retirement,” a new house, new car and helping others.
“If you don’t help people then what do you do in life? There’s nothing else to life. This win won’t change me, it’s just going to allow me to help more people. Now my heart can be bigger,” he said.
Hale said he also plans to travel across Canada with his family and then pursue his dream of becoming an inventor.
The winning ticket was bought at a Petro Canada on Don Mills Road in North York, OLG said.