A Hawkesbury, Ont., resident turned a Free Play ticket into a $55 million jackpot.
François Masse came forward to claim the jackpot after winning the grand prize in the Jan. 9, 2026, Lotto Max draw. The retiree told OLG that he was picking up groceries when he had a Free Play ticket to redeem.
“I added ENCORE for $1, put the ticket in my wallet, and went on about my day,” Masse said at the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto.
“A few days later, I remembered I had three tickets to check, so I scanned them using the OLG app. The first ticket earned me a Free Play, the second ticket won me $40, and the last one was the big one! I saw the ‘Big Winner’ message on the screen and went numb with disbelief — it was like the world stopped for a minute!”
OLG announced Jan. 10 that the winning ticket was sold in the Prescott-Russell area, but had no other details about the winner.
Masse said winning the jackpot was an “out-of-body experience.”
“I kept telling myself it couldn’t be true,” Masse said.
“I set the ticket down on the counter and paced around the house for five minutes, trembling and wondering if it was real. Then I checked the ticket again and saw the same ‘Big Winner’ message.”
‘A lot of happy tears’
Masse said it took him three hours to process the news before calling his family. To tell his children about the win in person, he invited them over with a story about having a late Christmas present.
“I told them I had a gift on back order for them, and I bought them each an espresso machine as a ruse,” Masse said.
OLG said once his children arrived, Masse asked them to scan the ticket for themselves on the app.
“Everyone was in shock! There were a lot of happy tears,” he said.
He plans to arrange a family trip to celebrate the win and then plan some “bucket-list travel,” including attending Formula 1 races, touring NFL stadiums and going on golf trips.
“There may also be a new home and car in my future! I’ve also always loved horses. I never actually rode any, but I bought a stable,” Masse said.
“So, when people ask if I’m into horses — well, I guess I am now!”
Masse spent a career in education before retiring.
In 2011, a lucky lottery winner in Hawkesbury won a $50 million Lotto Max jackpot.
$75 million Lotto Max jackpot
The winning ticket for the Tuesday, March 3, Lotto Max jackpot was sold in Toronto.
OLG says there was one winning ticket for the $75 million jackpot in the draw.
