Winner of largest lottery prize ever in N.S. got lucky ticket for her birthday

The lucky Nova Scotian winner of the $31-million Lotto Max jackpot is Marie McCarthy, from New Waterford in Cape Breton.

It’s the largest lottery prize ever in Nova Scotia and the Maritimes — and it’s all thanks to her family.

McCarthy got three lottery tickets from her grandson Jeff on Jan. 31, as a birthday gift. One of them ended up hitting the jackpot.

“It doesn’t seem real,” McCarthy told Atlantic Lottery.

“I never really thought about a bucket list or anything before because I never figured I’d have the money to do anything on it.”

McCarthy plans to share her new wealth with her loved ones. She said she will help out her immediate family, as well as pay off mortgages for her nieces and nephews.

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She’ll treat herself too — with a new-to-her vintage Cadillac.

The announcement was made at the Royal Cape Breton Yacht Club in Sydney, N.S., more than a month after the draw.

At the time, Atlantic Lottery spokesperson Greg Weston said the ticket is the largest-ever lottery win in Nova Scotia and the Maritimes.

He noted the largest prize ever won in Atlantic Canada was $60 million in Newfoundland and Labrador in February 2018.

“Handing out giant cheques is the most exciting thing we do at Atlantic Lottery and when it’s for a prize this big it definitely turns the excitement up to a whole new level,” Weston said in a statement.

— With files from Alex Cooke.