N.B. mechanic says he’s taking a year off work after winning $5M

A New Brunswick mechanic says he’s looking forward to taking time off work after a $5 million Lotto 6/49 win.

According to a release from Atlantic Lottery, Julio Roy of Acadieville, N.B., bought the winning ticket at Needs on Marr Road in Rothesay.

“I was at the gas station and somebody backed up and took my spot and all the others were full, so I parked to the side to wait and when it emptied, I got my fuel and went in to pay for it and thought I’d get two tickets,” Roy said in the release.

The $5 million prize for the May 20 draw drew a lot of attention over the long weekend, the release said, but Roy didn’t hear the news until he returned later for more gas.

“I went to gas up again, getting ready to go to work tonight, and scanned my ticket and saw it said ‘major winner,’ so I went to the clerk and asked him to check it,” Roy said.

“He punched it in and they didn’t seem to know what was going on, so I said, ‘Did I win 50 bucks or what?’ He didn’t say anything, so I said ‘What, millionaire?’ Then he showed me the ticket and I was like, ‘That’s $5 million. I’m a millionaire.’”

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The release said Roy commutes more than two hours to Saint John each week for work, then returns on weekends to be with his family. Now that he’s a millionaire, he plans to take time off work.

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“I’ll take a year off, maybe take a different direction, maybe start my own business,” Roy said. “Maybe work on my own schedule.”

A father of two, Roy and his wife now plan to pay off their mortgage and invest for the future. Roy also said he may finally pursue his “lifelong dream” of getting a pilot’s licence.

The Needs where the ticket was purchased will receive a one per cent seller’s prize, Atlantic Lottery said.

The 6/49 draw takes place every Wednesday and Saturday with two multi-million jackpots available to be won. The classic jackpot, which is what Roy had, is always set at $5 million, while the Gold Ball jackpot starts at $10 million and can grow past $60 million.

Atlantic Lottery is still waiting for the Gold Ball winner of a recent $64 million prize to come forward. The ticket was sold in Gloucester County for the April 15 draw.