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
'He's in our hearts': Family and friends still seek answers one year after Nathan Wise’s disappearance
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
'My family doctor just fired me': Ontario patients frustrated with de-rostering
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
Ottawa pizzeria places among top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world at international competition
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Canada Post cracks down on Nunavut loophole to get free Amazon Prime shipping
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
Wildfire near Fort McMurray more than triples overnight, several evacuation alerts remain in place
The fire burning near Fort McMurray grew from 25 hectares to 5,500 hectares over the weekend.
Putin replaces Russian defence minister in rare cabinet shakeup
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin began a Cabinet shakeup on Sunday, proposing the replacement of Sergei Shoigu as defence minister as he begins his fifth term in office.
Man fatally 'slashed in the neck' in downtown Toronto, suspect outstanding
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
WATCH Dashcam video shows terrifying near-miss on two-lane northern Ontario highway
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Edibles, armchairs and adapters: Here are the recalls for this week
Health Canada announced various product recalls this week, including electric adapters, armchairs, cannabis edibles and vehicle components.