30-year-old Toronto man in shock after huge Lotto Max win
A 30-year-old Torontonian is $55 million richer after scoring the Lotto Max jackpot win, and he still cannot believe he won.
“I’m pretty sure I will be checking my bank account a lot to see that amount of money in there. It’s still so unbelievable,” lotto winner Nishit Parikh said in an OLG news release.
While picking up the winning cheque, Parikh told OLG that he usually plays numbers based on significant family dates, but one of the auto-generated numbers sealed the deal for this life-changing prize.
“I purchased this ticket about an hour before the draw closed. The next day I heard on the news that someone in Toronto had won and, of course, hoped it was me,” Parikh said.
Parikh said he couldn’t believe the numbers on the Big Winner screen.
“I was looking at the zeroes, squinting my eyes to do a double take. I think my brain shut down – I was trying to process what was happening,” he said, adding he asked his dad to check the screen too.
“When I scanned it in front of him, he was so excited – he believed it right away. I still wasn’t convinced, so I had him to scan the ticket on his phone in case it was a glitch on my end.”
After seeing that it wasn’t a glitch, the reality sunk in.
“I was overcome with joy. I thought to myself, ‘Now I can finally afford a house in Toronto’,” he laughed, adding that his family is “ecstatic” for him.
As soon as Parikh knew he had won millions of dollars, he said he took the time to seek financial advice on managing that amount of money before claiming the prize.
With the $55 million dollars, Parikh said he can now take care of his family after the “many sacrifices” they made for him to succeed.
“Now I can take care of them the way they deserve,” he said.
But, travelling the world is first on his bucket list, and he has his sights set south of the border.
“I’ve always wanted to see South America and now I can take my time and savour the scenery across the continent,” Parikh said. “I will also make some real estate investments but will take my time to settle into this life-changing win. I want to be smart with this money and live a life that’s as normal and low-key as possible.”
The winning ticket from the Aug. 5 draw was bought at Petro Canada on Markham Road in Scarborough.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
What Canadians think of the latest Liberal budget
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
Teacher shortages see some Ontario high school students awarded perfect grades on midterm exams
Students at a high school in York Region have been awarded perfect marks on their midterm exams in three subjects – not because of their academic performances however, but because they had no teacher.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
An Ontario senior thought he called Geek Squad for help with his printer. Instead, he got scammed out of $25,000
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.
Her fiance has been in prison for 49 years. She's trying to free him before it's too late
Christine Roess is a retired consultant. Ezra Bozeman has spent the last 49 years in prison, serving a life sentence for a murder he says he didn’t commit. Against the odds, the two fell in love.