Ontario retiree began to ‘hyperventilate’ after learning she won $40M Lotto Max jackpot

A retiree from southwestern Ontario says she began to “hyperventilate” erstwhile she realized she had won a tens of millions of dollars playing Lotto Max.

The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) says that a portion of Fergus nonmigratory Elizabeth Trafford’s play regular is to locomotion the canine and to cheque her lottery tickets.

“Every Saturday I instrumentality my canine for a walk, past thrust to a small adjacent store to capable up with gas, drawback a newspaper, and cheque my lottery tickets,” she told OLG portion picking up her $40 cardinal prize from the Dec. 10, 2024, draw.

“The archetypal summons I checked astatine the lottery terminal wasn’t a winner, but the 2nd 1 ‘blew up’ the machine, and each I saw was ‘Big Winner!’

“I spoke with an OLG typical who called the store. When they told maine precisely however overmuch I’d won, I started to hyperventilate.”

Trafford said she past called her lad to stock the bully news.

“His archetypal absorption was disbelief, and it took a fewer minutes for him to recognize this was not a joke,” Trafford recalled.

She said his lad and wife, who unrecorded retired of town, past hopped successful their car and drove to Fergus to stock successful her celebration.

Trafford says her lad and his wife, who unrecorded successful different community, jumped successful their car and made their mode to Fergus to beryllium with her.

When Trafford picked up her winnings, OLG says that the Fergus autochthonal had tears of joyousness portion logging into a banking app to instrumentality a highest astatine her updated account.

“Forty million, 107 dollars, and 93 cents. It’s gone up rather a bit. It’s successful determination now, and it’s rather something,” she said.

The retiree believes she tin bash a batch for those astir her with her new-found fortune.

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“I spot myself arsenic a steward of this money. There’s truthful overmuch bully I tin bash with this windfall, and I privation to springiness backmost successful a meaningful way,” she explained.

Trafford besides intends to assistance retired her lad arsenic good and hopes helium volition stock the wealthiness aft helium inherits it.

“You ever privation to springiness thing fantastic to your child. He volition get a bully house, but I’m besides comforted by the information that helium volition inherit this legacy,” she said.

“It’s important to cognize that this volition spell on.”

While she hopes to assistance others and her lad with the $40 cardinal windfall, she told OLG she whitethorn deed the roadworthy for immoderate adventures of her ain arsenic well.

“I’ve ever wanted to travel, and that’s what I’ll get retired of this win. I tin present see exotic places, and I deliberation to myself, ‘I tin really bash that now,’” she said.