Ontario man wins $70-million Lotto Max jackpot but says he has no plan to retire
After about 30 years of playing the lottery and dreaming of a winning ticket, the day finally came for a father in Brampton, Ont. who is now $70-million richer.
“I had many dreams about winning it ‘big’ one day and a few times I came close,” said 54-year-old Manoharan Ponnuthurai while picking up his jackpot cheque at the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto.
About 15 years ago, he won $2,800, but he never came close to his current multimillion dollar earnings.
This time around, Ponnuthurai heard the news first: there was a winning ticket in Brampton from the Dec. 17 draw. He pulled out his Lotto ticket and saw his first four numbers were a match.
“I was so shaky I couldn’t continue,” Ponnuthurai said.
He called for his wife and children to help him read the remaining numbers. “As each number matched, my heart was racing faster and faster.”
In shock, he quietly kept saying to himself, “I won. I won!”
While Ponnuthurai is a multimillionaire, he has no plan to retire. As the owner of a small manufacturing company, he has several employees who depend on him for a living. But, his wife is ready to leave her job and head back to school.
At the top of Ponnuthurai’s list of priorities, he wants to spend his $70-million on a new house for his family and explore beaches in Europe set on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
“I am so happy about my family’s future. Whatever we decide to do, we will do it as family and that is the most important to me!”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Western University researchers unlock potential 'cure' for ALS
New research out of London, Ont.'s Western University is shedding light on a potential cure for ALS, in which the targeting of the interaction between two proteins can halt or fully reverse the disease's progression.
Police release 3D images of young child found in an Ontario river two years ago
Police have released a three-dimensional image of a young child whose remains were discovered in the Grand River in Dunnville, Ont. almost two years ago.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Kamala Harris drops F-bomb during White House live-stream
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris used a profanity on Monday while offering advice to young Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders about how to break through barriers.
B.C. man fighting for refund after finding someone living at Whistler vacation rental
Edwin Mostered spent thousands of dollars booking a vacation home in Whistler, B.C., for a group skiing trip earlier this year – or so he thought.
Avs forward Valeri Nichushkin suspended at least six months
Colorado Avalanche forward Valeri Nichushkin was suspended for at least six months without pay and placed in Stage 3 of the league's player assistance program.
Collapsed Baltimore bridge span comes down with a boom after crews set off chain of explosives
Crews conducted a controlled demolition Monday to break down the largest remaining span of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
Security video caught admitted serial killer disposing of bodies in Winnipeg garbage bins
Security video caught admitted serial killer Jeremy Skibicki on multiple late-night outings, disposing of body parts in nearby garbage bins and dumpsters in the middle of the night.
Mortgage companies could intensify the next recession, U.S. officials warn
U.S. officials worry the next recession could be intensified by a cascading series of failures in the mortgage industry caused by crashing home prices, frozen financial markets and soaring delinquencies.