Mount Pearl man wins $7 million
Thirty-eight years old and retired — that’s what Neil Macdonald of Mount Pearl told the gathering at the Slainte Restaurant on Duckworth Street in downtown St. John’s on Wednesday morning, May 11, after he was presented with his $7-million lotto winner’s cheque from Atlantic Lottery’s Tom Harris, regional director with Atlantic Lottery.
Macdonald won the Monday, May 2, Daily Grand top prize.
“It was 6 a.m. and I heard my phone buzz and I got a message that I won a prize and I checked the message. It usually says you won a free ticket or $4, but no, I checked and it said, ‘Congratulations, you won $7 million.’ That woke me up, for sure,” Macdonald said, adding, “this is unreal.” Macdonald plans to travel to see the world, purchase a dream home and make some donations to causes close to his heart.
“It provides stability and a lot of opportunities,” he said. “Generally, I can just pursue whatever I want, whenever I want, and that is very liberating.”
Daily Grand is a national draw game that offers two options for the top prize. Winners can choose to receive $1,000 a day for life or a lump sum of $7 million. Macdonald chose the latter.
Macdonald also intends to rent a theatre for a private screening of the next big blockbuster movie he and his friends would like to see, and decided that for Mother’s Day, he is paying off the mortgage on his mother’s house. He purchases his ticket combos each week on alc.ca, one of which includes the Daily Grand game.
“I’m shocked, stunned and very, very grateful,” Macdonald said. “I am still in a state of disbelief.”