Hamiota man pledges ‘boring’ plan after winning $40M ‘There might have been a little bit of tears’ By: Koralee Nickarz Posted: 6:36 PM CST Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024

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This article was published 19/12/2024 (298 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When Matthew Tannas opened up his lotto app after working a night shift and saw he had won $40 million, he drove to his brother’s house so someone he trusted could tell him he wasn’t dreaming.

With the Dec. 3 Lotto Max win confirmed, the Hamiota resident headed to his wife’s workplace next to share the life-changing news. She was thrilled to learn they had won $40,000 — then she started counting the zeroes and realized her mistake.

“There might have been a little bit of tears,” Tannas said, while accepting a cheque Thursday afternoon at the Western Canada Lottery Corporation office in Winnipeg.

The $80-million jackpot was split with another winning ticket in Quebec that matched all seven numbers. Tannas purchased his ticket using the Lotto Spot app while on a work trip in Alberta.

The father of three admitted his plans for the future are “boring;” he has no plans to retire. With one child in high school and two in university, the windfall will ensure their children’s educational journey will be easy. They will also help nieces and nephews in the same way, he added.

There are also plans for the Tannas children to have reliable vehicles. His son, who has been saving all summer, wants to buy his own truck.

“We’re going to do that,” Tannas said.

And one of his daughters has plans for a Jeep named Dolly.

“It’s exciting, but stressful.”–Matthew Tannas

Tannas bought the 1998 Jeep TJ off of a friend about 10 years ago, using it as a field and hunting vehicle. Once she got her driver’s licence, his daughter decided it was hers. Now Dolly will get a facelift.

“We’re going to look into getting it restored fully,” he said.

Tannas works as a full-time fire paramedic and part-time as a big game guide. That will continue.

“I love my job. I’m not planning on stopping any time soon,” he said, noting he is excited to be able to talk with his parents and in-laws about retiring as soon as possible.

Tannas said he is aware winning a massive jackpot does come with downsides. Tannas did not want to publicly identify his wife or children in an attempt to protect their privacy, adding their biggest fear about winning is people coming out of the woodwork asking for money.

“It’s exciting, but stressful. There’s a lot of stuff behind the curves that happens that people have to take care of when something like this happens,” he said.

Having just built a house, Tannas said there are no plans for the family to move from Hamiota. But lottery players looking to increase their chances of winning might want to consider relocating. In 2021, Hamiota resident Jeff Morton won $10 million, making Tannas the second major winner from the municipality, located about 280 kilometres west of Winnipeg.

“We’re going to definitely touch base with him and see what kind of hurdles he had to jump,” he said.

The $40-M prize is the fourth-largest jackpot in Manitoba history. The largest jackpot won in Manitoba is $60 million in 2021 and 2023.

Tannas is the latest Manitoba millionaire, joining Brandon couple Carol and Blaine Sangster and Winnipeg’s Jim Bester, who each won $1 million on Lotto Max tickets last month.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca