A fishing trip ended with a $40-million Lotto Max jackpot for a Quebec couple after they checked their ticket upon returning home.
Mylène Bourgeois and Joseph Gosselin-Rompre said they discovered they had won the prize only after Joseph checked the ticket using the lottery app on the Sunday after their trip.
“It’s only when I came back home on the Sunday that I verified the ticket via the application on the phone. I couldn’t believe it,” Gosselin-Rompre told Global News. “I closed the application, did it again and it showed again that we won.”
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He said he then showed the result to his wife, but the couple still struggled to believe it until they had the ticket validated at a convenience store.
“She validated the ticket, she was like, ‘Oh wow,’ and my daughter asked if she could have a slush,” Gosselin-Rompre said with a laugh.
“I told her, ‘You can have whatever you want.’”
The couple, who are in their 40s and live in Quebec’s Montérégie region, said they and their three children are still trying to process the win.
They said they are considering buying a larger home and possibly a boat in the future, but plan to take their time before making major purchases.
“Nothing in a rush. We don’t want to rush it,” Gosselin-Rompre said. “We want to think about it, take our decisions and that’s how it’s gonna go.”
The couple said their children’s wish lists are modest, with one hoping for a new PlayStation 5 and another asking for a bedroom makeover.
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