$117 million up for grabs in Lotto Max's record-breaking draw
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TORONTO -- The biggest lottery draw in Canadian history will happen this week, with eye-watering $117 million up for grabs.
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation’s (OLG) Lotto Max jackpot on Tuesday will be $70 million.
There will also be a whopping 47 Maxmillion prizes of $1 million.
"We've never seen this before," OLG spokesperson Tony Bitonti told CTV News Toronto on Sunday. "Fingers are crossed that someone wins the jackpot."
Bitonti also said that if ticket sales surge leading up to the draw, more Maxmillion prizes could be added.
The massive prize is up for grabs because there was no winning ticket sold in Friday's $70 million draw.
Four people in Ontario did win a Maxmillion prize, with the winning tickets being sold in Sault Ste. Marie, North York, Windsor, and Mississauga.
Lotto Max draws happen twice per week and players must match all seven numbers to win the jackpot or Maxmillion prizes.
Tickets start at $5 per play and the draw happens on Tuesday night.
The last $70 million dollar winner was a couple from Noelville, Ont. in February.
The morning after the draw, retired mechanic Marc Meilleur checked his Quick Pick tickets on the OLG Lottery app when he saw "$70,000,000" displayed on the screen.
Even after scanning the ticket four or five more times with the same result, he was still not convinced he had hit the Lotto Max jackpot.
"That's when I went to the bedroom to get Dorothy-Ann and tell her, 'I think I have the winning ticket,'" Meilleur said at the time, while at the OLG Prize Centre to collect his prize. "But my wife thought I was joking, so I scanned the ticket again to show her the $70 million win on the screen."
According to the OLG, the odds of winning the $70 million payout with a single play is 1 in 33.2 million.
lf you defy the odds and find yourself with one of Tuesday's winning tickets, Bitonti recommends immediately signing the back of it and then contacting OLG.
