$10-million lotto ticket sold in St. Catharines — but winner can’t claim prize
Lucky buyer told to hang onto it because OLG prize centre is closed due to COVID-19
Someone, somewhere, has 10 million reasons for wanting to claim the winning Lotto Max jackpot ticket from Friday’s draw that was sold in St. Catharines.
But they can’t. Not yet.
Ontario Lottery and Gaming’s Toronto prize centre has been closed since mid-March due to COVID-19. Whoever has the $10-million ticket will have to hold onto it for a while still.
“Our advice to the ticket holder is, validate that ticket. Get it into the system,” said OLG spokeswoman Dita Kuhtey.
“Sign it if you haven’t already, keep it in a safe place and we will let the public know when the prize centre is open to the public.”
That goes for all prize-winning tickets worth more than $10,000. Kuhtey said winning tickets can be validated at any outlet that sells them.
“If it’s validated and you sign it, there are a number of measures on that ticket to ensure that … it gets into the system and you can prove ownership of that ticket.
“We do have a lost ticket policy and process.” According to olg.ca, the winning Lotto Max number from Friday, June 19, was 3, 12, 17, 22, 29, 31 and 48, with 8 as the bonus number.
In Ontario, vendors are paid a percentage from every ticket they sell, though there is something extra if they sell a big winner.
For the $10-million ticket, Kuhtey said, the vendor will receive $1,000. Normally they get an extra $100 for every week the jackpot wasn’t won, but this was the first week for this prize.
By comparison, the biggest jackpots in Canadian history were about $70 million. It has happened three times.
“Anecdotally, I would say of all the jackpotwinning tickets … (many) check their tickets the next morning and know right away they have a winning ticket,” she said.
“But lots and lots of our winning ticket holders like to take their time, share the news with their family, make some plans and talk to their bank or financial adviser … to plan to claim this lifechanging prize.”
Jake Rigby, who has worked at the Avondale store on Ontario Street near Carlton Street for two years, said he sees more customers coming in after a major prize winner was sold there.
He sold a $10,000 winner there in 2018, and in January the manager sold a $100,000 winning ticket.
“When they notice the sign (placed by OLG when a big prize was sold there) they kind of flock in, but our store is pretty consistently busy with them anyway,” Rigby said.