SIXTY MILLION REASONS TO CELEBRATE
Newfoundlanders’ $60M lotto win to be confirmed soon by Atlantic Lottery
The Atlantic Lottery Corporation says it will confirm within 24 hours just how many Newfoundlanders have been made instant millionaires, after a group won a history-making Lotto Max $60-million jackpot.
It’s a massive windfall that’s expected to inject big money into rural Conception Bay-area communities about an hour’s drive from St. John’s.
Corporation spokeswoman Tracy Shute said the last members of the winning group were interviewed Monday as a security process wraps up. If all goes smoothly, an official announcement will likely happen later this week.
“We’ll introduce the group and tell you some of their stories about the wonderful things they’re going to do with this money.”
Shute did not confirm the total number who will share the biggest jackpot yet in Atlantic Canada and one of the top five ever across the country.
She confirmed the ticket for Friday night’s draw was bought somewhere on the Avalon Peninsula but would not reveal any other details.
Social media is abuzz with reports the jackpot will be shared by about 30 construction workers who live in small towns that have felt the brunt of recent economic swings.
Newfoundland and Labrador was hit particularly hard when the oil price crash starting in 2014 drained crucial revenues from the provincial treasury.
Several major construction projects started winding down around the same time, including components of the Hebron offshore oil platform built at the Bull Arm fabrication site.
Shute said the historic win could be a “fantastic” injection of cash in rural areas that can certainly use it.
“It’s really something.” John Smith, executive director of the Conception Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, said Monday he’s hearing the jackpot involves winners who live in small communities including Avondale, Conception Bay South, Holyrood, Bellevue and Come By Chance.