'Mind-blowing' $128 million up for grabs in rare Lotto Max draw
Canada's biggest lottery draw in history is up for grabs on Tuesday with $128 million ready to be handed out.
"This is rare," OLG spokesperson Tony Bitonti said on Monday. "I don't recall such a run in my recent memory."
Tuesday night’s Lotto Max jackpot will be $70 million, with another 58 Maxmillion prizes on the line.
No one has won the jackpot since April 24, meaning the prize has snowballed for seven weeks.
"We started rolling on April 27 draw," Bitonti said. "The April 24 draw, that was $10 million, and was won by two tickets in Ontario."
Lotto Max draws happen twice per week and players must match all seven numbers to win the jackpot or Maxmillion prizes.
Tickets start at $5 per play and the draw happens on Tuesday night.
The last $70 million dollar winner was a couple from Noelville, Ont. in February.
"I've awarded many 70 million prizes," Bitonti said. "It's always life-changing for these folks."
"People show me their bank statement and sometimes they have a couple hundred bucks. It's mind-blowing at that point when they show me their phones and I see it go from something like $1,000 to $70 million."
WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU WIN?
According to the OLG, the odds of winning the $70 million payout with a single play is 1 in 33.2 million.
lf you defy the odds and find yourself with one of Tuesday's winning tickets, Bitonti recommends immediately signing the back of it and then contacting OLG.
He said many people take a few weeks before claiming their prize so they can get their affairs in order.
"When we award them the prize they are still in a state of shock," Bitonti said. "They may have some ideas of what they want to do and it may include buying a new car, house, some travelling. But then we always ask the question, what are you going to do with the other $69 million?"
"Their lives change overnight."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Explosion at train station leads to discovery of stolen car on Montreal's South Shore: police
Police are investigating after a BMW exploded in the St-Lambert Exo train station parking lot on Montreal's South Shore.
Parliamentary report on Emergencies Act decision is 18 months past due — and counting
The erstwhile group of senators and MPs studying the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act over the "Freedom Convoy" was supposed to present its findings in December. December of 2022, that is.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
A candidate for Germany's key party was beaten up while campaigning for European elections
A candidate for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left party in next month's election for the European Parliament was beaten up and seriously injured while campaigning in an eastern city, the party said Saturday.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.