Toronto man wins $20M with lottery numbers used for 36 years
A Toronto man has won $20 million in the Lotto 649 jackpot using the same numbers he played for more than three decades.
Scarborough resident Stephen Dixon said he's been playing the same set of lottery numbers for 36 years.
"I started playing these numbers with Wintario and migrated them over to Lotto 6/49. The numbers I play are significant family dates," he said in an Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) release issued Thursday.
When Dixon told his wife he’d won the top prize, she originally thought it was worth $20,000. When he informed her it was for $20-million, he said she didn’t believe him.
“She was convinced I was playing a prank on her,” he said.
Dixon says he found out he'd won after his son reminding him to check his ticket, which was purchased at Sunstar Convenience on Ellesmere Road in Scarborough.
"I was at the store running errands, when I stopped to check my ticket,” he said.
“When I saw the ‘Big Winner’ screen, I assumed the $20 million that appeared was an advertisement for the next draw. Then the store clerk checked the ticket for me and said, 'Oh my God, you’ve won the big one!' and she started dancing and cheering!"
Dixon said customers of the store soon came to congratulate him.
“It was nerve-wracking – I was in a daze. I got into my car and realized how shocked I was. Too shocked to celebrate like they do in commercials.”
According to the OLG, Lotto 6/49 players in Ontario have won over $13.7 billion in prizes since 1982.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.