A Kingston, Ont., man has come forward to claim his $75-million lottery prize, making him the winner of the largest Lotto Max jackpot in Ontario history, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) says.
David Hatt won the grand prize in the Aug. 19 Lotto Max draw. He told OLG he bought the winning ticket at the last minute, on a whim.
“The night before the draw, as I was passing the gas station where I usually get my lottery tickets, something told me to buy a ticket, so I got a Lotto Max Quick Pick and didn’t think any more about it,” Hatt said in a news release.
“The next morning, as I was in line at a drive-thru waiting for my coffee, I remembered to check the ticket. I checked it using the OLG App and thought I had won $75,000 at first - I thought that was awesome! It wasn’t until I took a closer look that I noticed there were a lot more zeros!”
The winning ticket was purchased at the Pioneer/Snack Express on Bath Road in Kingston.
Hatt went home and told his wife upon learning of his windfall, OLG says, and immediately began planning and researching what this amount of money would mean for his family and his community. He has also assembled “a team of professionals to help him navigate this life-changing event and ensure that he and his family can achieve their dreams,” according to OLG.
“Of course, we want to support our family, but we also want to give back to our community and assist the most vulnerable in our area. It’s not about helping one charity, but about reaching as many people as possible for the longest amount of time,” Hatt said.
OLG says Hatt is planning to purchase a dream home for his family, travel throughout Europe, and play a few rounds of golf with some new clubs.
The $75 million win is the second-largest lottery prize ever won in Canada, after an $80-million ticket was claimed by a man in B.C. earlier this year.
