TORONTO, June 18 /CNW/ - Rita Levesque of Orleans, Ontario has been playing LOTTO MAX since it launched in September 2009. When she realized that she had the winning numbers for one of the twenty-seven MAXMILLIONS draws from Friday, June 11, her first thought was about her family and how wonderful it will be to share her windfall with them.
"This win is so great, but what is even greater is that I will be able to share this money with my family and get to experience being able to help them out," said Levesque.
Levesque stopped at her usual gas station to fill up last Wednesday night, and bought her LOTTO MAX tickets as she does every week. Bright and early Saturday morning, she got up and checked her numbers on OLG.ca, which is when she realized that she had a winning ticket for a $1 million MAXMILLIONS prize.
"It's so surreal. You always hope to win, but you never really expect it! I was so excited I had tears in my eyes," she explained.
Levesque said that her first priority is to distribute some of the winnings amongst her children, but she will put some aside to buy a comfortable family cottage where she can spend quality time with her 13 grandchildren.
The winning ticket was bought at Ultramar gas station in Rockland, Ontario.
MAXMILLIONS are additional $1 million prizes added to the game when the jackpot reaches $50 million. MAXMILLIONS prizes are drawn separately from the LOTTO MAX jackpot draw, which means that a LOTTO MAX ticket not only gives players a chance at $50 million but also the chance to win any of the $1 million MAXMILLIONS draws on the same date.
Since the game launched in September 2009, there have been eleven MAXMILLIONS winners in total, two of them from Ontario.
OLG is a provincial agency responsible for province-wide lottery games and gaming facilities. Since 1975, OLG lotteries, casinos, slots, and resort casinos have generated more than $32 billion for the benefit of the Province of Ontario. Gaming proceeds support Ontario's hospitals, amateur sport, recreational and cultural activities, communities, provincial priority programs such as health care and education, and local and provincial charities and non-profit organizations through the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
Know your limit, play within it! THE ONTARIO PROBLEM GAMBLING HELPLINE 1-888-230-3505 Disponible en français
For further information: Sarah Kiriliuk, Media Relations Manager, Ontario Lottery and Gaming, 416.726.3641
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