A B.C. man won $6 million after buying a “quick pick” Lotto 6/49 ticket at a store in Toronto while attending a conference in the city.
Fifty-five-year-old Troy Maulding, from Burnaby, won the top prize in the Aug. 6 draw, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) said in a news release Friday.
“I’ve been playing regular numbers since I was 19, but this ticket was a quick pick,” Maulding said in the release.
He was attending a union conference in Toronto and went to a store to pick up bandages for a friend when he also bought some lottery tickets.
Maulding was in his hotel room when he decided to check his numbers.
“The numbers I normally play didn’t win,” he said.
“Then I started matching the numbers from my quick pick. I had to double check what I was seeing.”
He said he then stood up, looked in the mirror and said to himself, “I won.”
He texted his wife and sister-in-law a picture of the ticket to double check, but couldn’t wait for a response so he called them.
“Then I heard my sister-in-law say, ‘He won!’ That’s when I asked my wife to pack up and head down to Toronto to be with me,” Maulding said.
“I had to hold it together because I had a job to do. When I told my colleagues, they thanked me for my commitment to the work that had to be done and for staying for the entire conference in light of this incredible news. I almost cried.”
Maulding said he will prioritize his family with the winnings and once he retires, the first thing he will do is look for a house to buy.
“The rest will fall into place after that,” he said.
He bought the winning ticket at Unique Gift & Convenience on Front Street.