City family claims $60-M lottery win

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This article was published 02/02/2021 (2066 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WHEN John Chua first checked his Lotto Max online ticket Jan. 23, he didn’t notice anything. In fact, when he heard the $60-million jackpot had been won by someone in Winnipeg, he even felt a little jealous.

Later that day, he received an email from lottery platform PlayNow.com that would change his life: he and his family had won two free plays, a $20 prize — and $60 million.

“My mind just went blank, that’s it,” he said in an interview with the Western Canada Lottery Corp. released Tuesday.

“I couldn’t think of anything but: ‘Is this real?’ That was all I could think of.”

Chua, along with his wife Jhoana, mother Angie, and uncle Ben Lagman, are the winners of the largest lottery jackpot awarded in Manitoba, and the largest win from a ticket purchased online in Canada.

The family’s ticket was the only one in Canada to match all seven numbers in the Jan. 22 draw: 11, 21, 23, 25, 28, 41, 43.

Even when Chua saw the email, he was skeptical. When he showed his mother, she thought it was a prank.

“I told my mom, maybe this won’t be real until we contact them and get the cheque and whatever,” he said.

Chua said the family plans to keep playing Lotto Max. While they plan to buy a home in the near future, the family won’t be in a rush to spend the winnings.

“I will take my time before spending all that money to whatever,” he said. “I just want to be wise. I have kids now, so I’m thinking for the future.”

The win was more than double the previous Winnipeg record: a $27.2-million Lotto 6/49 jackpot in 2005 by Dawn Fraser. The provincial record was a $50-million Lotto Max jackpot in 2009, by Kirby and Marie Fontaine of Sagkeeng First Nation.

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: malakabas_