| Winner | Prize(in millions) | Draw Date | Location Sold |
|---|---|---|---|
| Danis Dabulis of Montreal's Plateau Mont-Royal district. He is an estimator in the construction industry. | 2.5 | Dec. 31, 1999 (Lotto Super 7) |
The Quick Pick was bought at Tabagie Place du Cercle, located at 3585 Berri Street in Montreal. The retailer will receive a bonus cheque for $25,000, representing 1% of the jackpot prize. |
| Johnnie Ely from the South Bronx is the sole winner of U$100 million. He is a 66-year-old short-order cook at The Java Shop. He opted for a lump-sum payment of $44 million; after taxes, he will get about $27 million. His wife is a nurse, and has 1 son (Johnnie Jr.) and 2 daughters. He plays the lottery every day and intends to keep playing, had bought $100 worth of the tickets. He said, "I don't need nothing. As long as I keep the good health I've had through the years, what else does a man really need?" Then, flashing a broad smile, he said, "I mean, I'm a millionaire, right? That's what this is all about, brother. I am a millionaire!" | U$100 | Dec. 31, 1999 (Millennium Millions) |
New York |
| Pat Valen, Donna Fenton, Judy Holroyd, Nancy Humenuik, Kathy Kollar, Tracy Perrella, Donna Poitras, Cheryl Sarvis, Diane Shaver, Iris Taylor and Darlene Voss. The 11 are all Service Representatives at Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. and have worked for the company from 18 to 30 years. It's the second million dollar jackpot claimed by MTS staff this year. The group has purchased lottery tickets together for the past four years and their previous biggest win on LOTTO 6/49 was $1,800. | 5 | Christmas Day, 1999 | Winnipeg Square Kiosk on the Concourse level, Manitoba |
| Marc Bouffard and his wife Katherine Bender won on a Quick-Pick selection. Ms. Bender works at Sudbury Regional Hospital. Go to the Lottery Forum to give your opinion on a lottery retailer winning the jackpot. | 10 | Dec. 4, 1999 | Mr. Bouffard owns and operates the Bay Used Books store where the winning ticket was sold so he also receives a Bonus Commission cheque for $1,200. The store is at 664 La Salle Blvd., Sudbury, Ontario. Since he is the store owner, Ontario Lottery Corporation prize procedures required additional verifications to be made before the prize win could be announced. |
| Shashi & Rukmani Mestry have 2 children. Shashi is a cook who came from Fiji in 1982. | 2.5 | Nov. 20, 1999 | Surrey, BC |
| Marilyn ("60+" years old) & Charles (67) Anderson own two liquor stores. Marilyn said the six individual numbers she used came to her at different times individually over the course of about six weeks. When asked why they bought six plays, she said they needed to in order to play each of the six numbers as the red Powerball®. One of those plays matched all six winning numbers, while each of the other five plays won $100,000 because each of their five white ball numbers matched the five white ball numbers drawn. | US 3 | Nov. 3, 1999 (Powerball) |
Marilyn made her purchase on the morning of the draw just before going off duty at Big Red Liquor in North Platte, Nebraska. |
| William R. McGaughey, 71, loves to bowl. He loves it so much that he wasn't willing to miss his bowling league at Derby Bowl on Buelah Church Road in Louisville, Kentucky even though he had the winning Powerball® ticket in his wallet. He says it's only the third or fourth time he has purchased a Powerball® ticket. He has three children, six grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. | US 2.5 | Nov. 3, 1999 (Powerball) |
He bought a $5 quick pick, cash option ticket at the Tobacco Road store at 8003 Old Shepherdsville Rd., Kentucky. |
| John & Sandra Wynne chose the cash option. "When they gave the lottery numbers, I wrote them down and asked (John) for the ticket," said Sandra. "(John) said to 'go get the winner out of his billfold.'" "First (John) grabbed the wrong ticket," Sandra recalled. "When he read the numbers off the winning ticket, I told him he must have written those numbers down off the T.V." When John assured Sandra that the numbers he read were in fact from the ticket he was holding in his hand, Sandra said "My legs turned to rubber, and I hit the floor. My legs just gave out." | US 61 | Oct. 30, 1999 (Powerball) | John Wynne purchased the quick pick ticket Saturday morning at M & H Gas, 721 Arcade St. in St. Paul, Minnesota. |
| Emebet (Emma) Ali purchased a $2 Quick Pick ticket at the last minute. The 34-year-old homecare worker has played SUPER 7 faithfully every week for the past five years. The morning after the draw, on her way to church, Emma stopped off at the Mac's store to check her SUPER 7 ticket. Unaware it was a winning ticket, she was shocked when the Retailer showed her the claim slip indicating her prize! With ticket in hand, Emma continued on her way to church. After the service, she hurried home to share the good news. Her husband, Nigatu Fiflu (38), was sleeping. That didn't stop her! "I went into the bedroom, hugged my husband and started to cry!" She then showed Nigatu the ticket. He grabbed Emma, started to jump up and down and gave her a big kiss! She still plans to play SUPER 7! The couple visited Toronto during Christmas to party on her winnings, and Emma returned to Edmonton in early January 2000. A 23-year-old woman had met Nigatu in a bar. When she went to the posh Westin Harbour Castle hotel on the night of January 6 to discuss a business arrangement with Nigatu, she was allegedly attacked. He is charged with sexual assault. |
8.75 | Oct. 29, 1999 (Lotto Super 7) | Mac's Convenience Store, 11615-104 Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta |
| Omar, an accountant | 8.75 | Oct. 29, 1999 (Lotto Super 7) | Oakville, Ontario |
| Gail L. Sinclair, a secretary with a local Accounting firm, used her Safeway Club Card and was automatically entered in a contest to win $1 million each time any two kickoffs are returned for touchdowns during a CFL game. Customers can also win an exotic trip for two during each TSN CFL telecast, as well as one quarter million dollars in valuable prizes for touchdowns and interceptions registered throughout the CFL regular season and playoffs. Gail's name was picked through a random draw of all entries as the potential million dollar winner at the start of the Edmonton vs. Montreal CFL matchup. Edmonton Eskimos' Henry Williams returned a 100 yard kickoff just over 5 minutes into the 1st quarter against Montreal. It wasn't until shortly into the 4th quarter before Donnie Ashley completed the second kickoff return, a 91 yard run. | 1 | Oct. 23, 1999 (Safeway's Million Dollar Touchdown to Win contest) |
Oliver Square Safeway store on 104th Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta |
| Lucie Bergeron, mother of 3 children, and Denis Germain. Last August, Mr. Germain won a $130,000 truck in another draw. | 13 | Oct. 6, 1999 | $130,000 for Dépanneur Garneau in Rouyn-Noranda, Québec |
| Monique Lepage has played the same combination for the past 10 years. | 5 | Oct. 2, 1999 | Dépanneur Du Carré Four, located at 219, rue Doucet in Mont-Joli, Québec earning the retailer a bonus cheque of $50,000. |
| Laurie Cline won with a $1 Quick Pick. Laurie, 44 years old and single, is a Branch Manager for Westoba Credit Union. | 5 | Oct. 2, 1999 | Infoplace Ticket Centre in the Brandon Gallery, Manitoba |
| Ben Druhan, a construction superintendent from Antigonish. He and his wife Charlene, a nurse, have been married for 25 years and have 4 children. | 1.8 | Sept. 22, 1999 | Bakers Convenience in Amherst, Nova Scotia will receive a |
| Roy and Barbara Hamer of Leesburg won the $41 million jackpot. "If I had known over the weekend that I was a millionaire I would not have mopped the floor, washed the dishes and done the laundry," said Barbara. "We kept it in the floor board of our car," said Roy. "We knew that was the best place cause no one would think to look there." Roy, 51, is an Assistant Superintendent at Rozella Ford Golf Club in Warsaw and Barbara, 40, works at McHatton-Sadler Funeral Home in Warsaw. "Our biggest goal is to keep as much normalcy to our life as possible," said Roy. Without much sleep Sunday night the couple was able to talk with their attorney Sally Sittler Wilson of The Heyde Group. Ms. Wilson accompanied them to the Indianapolis Hoosier Lottery headquarters. "The couple has already started a very good financial investment program, " said Sally. They selected the U$21,458,701.87 cash option and will receive U$15,450,265.35 after taxes. | US 15.5 | Sept. 18, 1999 (Powerball) |
V & Ease Stop N Shop in Warsaw, Indiana |
| Gerald & Roxie Trottier | 1 | Sept. 18, 1999 (BC/49) |
Canoe, BC |
| Frank Kingston, father of five, won $962,777.90. The forest products worker had just been called back to work after a layoff. | 1 | Sept. 18, 1999 | |
| Brent Storey used the Lotto 6/49 5-number Combination Play option, playing 44 different combinations of numbers. He not only claimed the jackpot prize of 962,777.90, but he also won the second prize of $96,277.80 as well as 42 third prizes of $1,178.90. He is a a 33 year-old excavator and has been playing his numbers since 1992. "I still have my original ticket from 1992 in my wallet," explains Storey. | 1.1 | Sept. 18, 1999 | Clowater Grocery in New Bandon, New Brunswick will receive a seller's prize of $11,085.70 |
| Monique Blouin and nine of her customers who frequent Restaurant Georges Blouin. Holding two shares in the group, and as the retailer who sold the winning ticket, not only is Ms. Blouin the winner of two times $500,000, but she is also entitled to receive a bonus cheque of $50,000, representing 1% of the jackpot. | 5 | Sept. 11, 1999 | Berthier-sur-Mer, Québec |
| Beecher Eaton of Waterville, N.S., has been playing the lottery for over 20 years. Eaton, who is retired from the Canadian Armed Forces, and his wife Lois have been married for 43 years. They have two sons and five grandchildren. | 1.1 | Sept. 4, 1999 | Mader Pharmacy in Coldbrook, N.S. will receive a seller's prize of $11,011.17. |
| James L. Hambrick, a Lufkin, Texas truck driver. Hambrick and his wife, Sherri had an
option of receiving an annuitized 25-year payout of U$31.8 million, but
chose to receive a cash payout of U$16,362,002.94, which resulted in
net winnings of U$10,962,541.97 after federal and state withholding
taxes. The winning ticket was one of five quick pick tickets Hambrick purchased on the morning of thedrawing. "He called me on Thursday morning after the drawing and asked if I was sitting down," Ms. Hambrick said. "I said, Were you in a wreck?" Hambrick, who had contacted Lottery officials before calling his wife with the good news, answered "$16 million dollars worth." "I asked, How could you do that much damage? And then he told me he had won the Powerball. I didn't believe him, but he put one of the clerks on the telephone and she said, yes, he won the jackpot! I screamed, jumped up and down and then I hyperventilated." The Hambricks said both plan to continue working, but they also expect to take a vacation in the near future. "We have been married almost 16 years and have never had a vacation," she said. "I've always wanted to see Hawaii and we plan to go there." They said the money would be invested and also would be used to ensure that their three children attend and finish college. Ms. hambrick, whose father is suffering from a terminal illness, also said she was happy that she would be able to provide for her mother. Hambrick said he enjoys buying lottery tickets and plans to continue. "I always buy Lottery tickets on the road, primarily scratch-off tickets," he said, adding that he has won prizes up to $500. After receiving their check from the Lottery, the Hambricks planned to take their winnings straight to their bank where an investment program already had been developed and was awaiting to be initiated. |
US 10.9 | Aug. 18, 1999 | Fillmore Oil Company on Goodwill Road in Minden, Louisiana |
| Andrew and Gloria Maher, married for 20 years. Their daughter Erika had read in the newspaper that there was a $5 million winning ticket from New Brunswick. "I always forget to check my tickets and this one was in my lunch box all day, until Erika asked if she could check it," explained Andrew, a welder at the Irving Refinery Expansion. | 5 | Aug. 14, 1999 | McGowans Convenience in Fairvale, New Brunswick will receive a seller's prize of $50,000 (1% of prize in most provinces but capped in Ontario). |
| Dick Bornholdt | 1 | Aug. 11, 1999 (BC/49) |
Blind Bay, BC |
| Denis Guay | 5 | Aug. 7, 1999 | Petro-Canada, 5730 Monkland Ave., Montréal, Québec |
| Way Lap Chan | 1.1 | Aug. 7, 1999 (BC/49) |
Vancouver, BC |
| Ten NB Liquor employees, including Carla Davenport. The store's manager, Tom Butler, brought in replacement workers so the group could claim their prize all together. | 2.5 | Aug. 6, 1999 (Lotto Super 7) |
The Gateway Mall Lotto Booth in Sussex, New Brunswick receives a seller's prize of $25,000. |
| Wade Brown | 5 | July 31, 1999 | Summerford, Newfoundland |
| Dave Sharpe | 2.5 | July 14, 1999 | Canadian Tire Gas & Stop, Stony Plain Road, Edmonton, Alberta |
| Gordon Sagen, a retired accountant. He and his wife of 56 years, Gladys, were watching the draw on TV. The grandparents of five are considering a trip to Hawaii, a little help for their son and two daughters and some investment opportunities. "Ones that are government-backed," says Gordon. "I don't like the stock market." | 1.9 | July 7, 1999 | Richmond, BC |
| Dave Mosher, a B.C. Liquor Board retail clerk, plans to buy a house, help out his parents and update his computer. | 1 | July 7, 1999 (BC/49) |
Nanaimo, BC |
| Chester Sobczak , an automotive mechanic for Manitoba Telecom Services (MTS). "This is Chester's hobby and it's the first hobby I've seen that pays off," joked his wife Sue. Beyond securing the family's future, they hope to build a house that's completely wheelchair accessible for daughter Tiffany. | 1 | July 3, 1999 (Western 649) |
Sun Valley IGA at 1529 Gateway Road, East Kildonan, Manitoba |
| Farrah Slad, a 21-year old single woman from Brainerd, MN. She chose the cash option of U$78,882,065.40, so after taxes, she will end up with U$50.5 million. She was low on gas when she stopped at a gas station and bought the ticket. She will stay at her $9 an hour job at a mortgage company until they find a replacement for her! | US 50.5 |
June 30, 1999 (US Powerball) |
Holiday, 1200 Dellwood Dr. N., Baxter, Minnesota |
| Charles Brazauckas | 5 | June 19, 1999 | Pharmacie Uniprix Archambault, 5388 Bélanger East, Montréal, Québec |
| Jim Lalonde, 39, and his fiancée Debbie Staples, left his hometown in one of the four camping trailers he bought for $147,448. His family had been camping together at Culver Park, but people constantly asking them for money drove them away. Someone walked into his trailer at Culver Park and said, " I need $80,000, you've got lots of money." Lalonde lost his right arm after punching through a pane of glass during a fight 10 years ago. He had been making ends meet with $434 a month in welfare payments, and whatever he is able to earn at odd jobs. He is well-known around town as the one-armed man who shovels snow on the town's sidewalks during the winter, and crawls through the driver's window of his beat-up Monte Carlo because he hasn't been able to afford to fix the car's broken door. | 7 | June 18, 1999 (Lotto Super 7) |
Kirkland Lake, Ontario |
| 51 employees of the Ichiboshi fish plant in Caraquet. When Dianne Lacasse, the group's representative, walked in to work early Thursday morning to tell the group they had won the jackpot, the plant went into a frenzy. The group members, 50 women and one man, will each receive $19,540.98. | 1 | June 2, 1999 | Dépanneur Rapido in Tracadie-Sheila, N.B. The retailer will receive a seller's prize of $9,965.90. |
| The owner and three employees of Constructions Jean-Yves Côté. Jean-Yves Côté, Donald Tremblay and Daniel Bernatchez, all three of Baie-Comeau, and Réjean Turcotte, of Pointe-Lebel have been playing the same selection for 6 years! | 5 | May 26, 1999 | Dépanneur A.P.R. at 182, Damasse-Potvin, in Baie-Comeau, QB will receive a seller's 1% prize of $50,000. |
| 7 | May 21, 1999 (Lotto Super 7) |
Manitoba. Although Manitoba accounts for only 3% of national lottery sales, the province has won its third major lottery jackpot in 23 days! | |
| Jean and David Lowe have been playing a regular set of LOTTO 6/49 numbers for 15 years. "Our greatest joy will be sharing the windfall with our family," Jean explained, referring to their five children, eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. | 2 | May 12, 1999 | Westmount Shopping Centre Customer Service in Edmonton, Alberta |
| Erich Schoenhaar, a semi-retired mining and construction worker, living in Royal City. He came to Canada from Germany in 1970 and collects one-cent coins from the 1800s and early 1900s. | 4.5 | May 1, 1999 | New Westminster, BC |
| Michael McLeod, 39, Roger Charlebois, 33, and Rick Pilon, 38, won with a $5 Quick Pick ticket. | 4.5 | May 4, 1999 | Oakridge Mall information kiosk in London |
| Kevin Johnson, 37-year-old manager, purchased the lucky ticket at his own store from $70 that he had won on the previous LOTTO 6/49 draw. He and his spouse, Susan, have no children. He will make arrangements with the bank to put the bulk of his windfall into a trust. | 4.5 | May 1, 1999 | Northwest Company Store, Split Lake Reserve, Manitoba |
| Oscar Surla, 45-year old assembler of electric transformers with Pauwels Canada. On the night of the draw, he was having a special dinner with wife, Minda, to celebrate their 20th anniversary. Little did the couple know that, as they dined, Oscar's LOTTO 6/49 numbers were being drawn! | 4.3 | April 28, 1999 | McPhillips Street Station, Winnipeg, Manitoba |
| Mark and Kim MacDonald. For the second time in as many weeks, somebody from Miramichi has won the Lotto Super 7 jackpot. It was the first time Mark, owner of Affordable Renovations, has ever played Lotto Super 7. "The clerk convinced me to buy a couple of Super 7 tickets with my $10 Lotto 6/49 winnings. I went to Baie-Sainte-Anne on Friday to help a buddy with his lobster traps. I stopped at the Co-Op to get gas and decided to get another ticket. That was the one that won." | 2.5 | April 23, 1999 (Lotto Super 7) |
Baie-Sainte-Anne Co-Op in New Brunswick gets a seller's prize of $25,000. |
| Lorraine and Leo McGraw of Bellefond, N.B., are the owners and operators of an auto salvage yard. | 5.5 | April 16, 1999 (Lotto Super 7) |
Scholten's Grocery, Miramichi, New Brunswick receives a seller's prize of $55,000 |
| Merle and Murray Phillips of Newport | 2.1 | April 14, 1999 | Needs Convenience, Windsor, Nova Scotia |
| Frank & Gilda Bafaro. Frank is a retired truck operator for Revelstoke Dam. They're planning a trip to Italy, the homeland Frank left in 1953, returning a few years later to marry Gilda and bring her to Canada. | 1.5 | Apr. 10, 1999 | Revelstoke, BC |
| Almyra Sibley & husband Mel & children Reg, Kelvin, Sandra Anderson & Mary Knox. Almyra & Mel have been married for fifty-five years. The couple plan to sell their farm, purchase a motor home and tour Eastern Canada. | 1 | April 10, 1999 (Western 649) |
Tellier Value Drug Mart in Bonnyville, Alberta |
| $2.5 million lottery ticket expired. It is the biggest unclaimed prize in the history of Lotto 6/49. | 2.5 | April 7, 1999 | Québec |
|
Maria J. Grasso was a live-in baby sitter
for the four children of multimillionaires Chris and Hilary Gabrieli.
The 54-year old Chilean immigrant who has spent the last three
decades caring for other people's children is now richer than
her former boss. She is a divorced mother of two college students.
About an hour before the press conference, her attorney Robert Jahrling
deposited Grasso's cheque for $70,244,814.02 - her
lump-sum payment minus $34.5 million in taxes The announcement laid to rest intense, persistent speculation that a Nigerian taxi driver named Patrick Okusanya had won. On Friday, after published reports included his full name, Okusanya sought the help of a lawyer to set the record straight. |
US 104 (lump sum) | April 6, 1999 (US Big Game) |
Star Market grocery store on Kilmarnock Street in Boston's Fenway neighbourhood. |
| |
1 each | March 31, 1999 (Méga Million$ 2000) |
Québec |
| Lorraine Young, retired Riverview Hospital dietary aide. On April Fool's Day, Lorraine's sons went to get gas for her lawn mower. They came back with the 6/49 numbers and news of a $10-million winner. "Mom, the winner's in Maple Ridge — maybe it's you," they said. | 10 | March 31, 1999 | Maple Ridge, BC |
| Kelly and Dave McMahon. Kelly picked the cash option, which means the couple will have the after-taxes balance of $12.6 million deposited into their bank account. Kelly made less than $7 an hour at the store where she both worked and bought the ticket from. The McMahons stated that they will never work again. | US 12.6 | March 27, 1999 (US Powerball) |
Somerset Conoco Super Stop, Somerset (pop. 1072), Wisconsin, US (other winner from Montana) |
| Mrs. Brigitte Hébert & 10 other medical centre employees of the Centre hospitalier des Vallées de l'Outaouais. In order to sleep in peace before actually claiming the prize, Brigitte put the winning ticket into hiding in her microwave! Each member of the group received a cheque for $636,363. | 7 | March 26, 1999 (Lotto Super 7) |
Medical centre's coffee shop in Gatineau, Québec, which will receive a bonus cheque for $70,000, representing 1% of the jackpot |
| Stephen Smith and Ann Reilly. Ann, whose family is Irish, gave her husband a shamrock to wear on his shirt in honour of St. Patrick's Day. When he purchased a $3 WESTERN 649 ticket - four Selections with THE PLUS - he rubbed the ticket on his shamrock "for the luck of the Irish." The lucky couple plan on taking their long anticipated honeymoon. | 1 | March 17, 1999 (Western 649) |
Husky at 8720 Franklin Avenue, Fort McMurray, Alberta |
| Rosita & Deogracias Barcelona, a Filipino couple working for the police department. Deo is a crossing guard. | 5 | March 10, 1999 | Etobicoke, Ontario |
| Mr. Howard Pashlin of Saint-Laurent, and sister Cheryl of Montréal. They have been playing 7-number combinations for 10 years. They had 6 correct matches printed on their $7 ticket, so they won the first prize and 6 third prizes. | 10 | Feb. 27, 1999 | The Alexis-Nihon store in Saint-Laurent, Québec receives a commission cheque of 1% of the first prize - $100,128! |
| Garry Vansacker | 1 | Feb. 17, 1999 | Sooke, BC |
| Robert Lapp, a TV salesman | 10 | Feb. 13, 1999 | New Westminster, BC |
| Mrs. Gisele Faubert, 50 years old, recently became unemployed. | 20 | Feb. 12, 1999 (Lotto Super 7) |
Mercier, Québec |
| Brian LeBlanc of Aylmer, Quebec, had 2,571 winning tickets - purchased for $25 each.
Total weekly winnings for ALC Pro-Line during this time of year usually
amount to about $150,000, which represents between 50% and 60% of sales. The
largest single prize won for Pro-Line before today was $22,000.
The unusually large win caused Atlantic Lottery's $2.5-million liability
cap on Pro-Line to be exceeded for the first time. The cap was exceeded by
about $200,000. As outlined in the Rules and Regulations for Pro-Line,
Atlantic Lottery prorated all Pro-Line players' winnings from Feb.10 by about 5%, including Mr. LeBlanc's. The liability cap is a rule which exists in every lottery jurisdiction in Canada and in many throughout North America. It's intended to ensure the long-term financial viability of the Pro-Line game, which would certainly not be able to support itself after too many large payouts of this nature. Atlantic Lottery, like other lotteries, implemented a cap to its sports lottery game to help protect the corporation and players against the high financial risks of the type of ``block betting'' seen last week. Pro-Line is intended to be a low-stakes recreational lottery product and the liability cap is one measure put in place to ensure the game is played in this fashion. |
1.7 | Feb. 10, 1999 (Pro-Line) |
Millwood Quickmart in Lower Sackville, N.S. |
| Timothy E. Schultz, 21, is a student at Des Moines Area Community College and a clerk at Coastal Mart. He and his 20-year old underage coworker, Sarah Elder, resolved their disagreement. | US 28 | Feb. 10, 1999 (US Powerball) |
Coastal Mart, Des Moines, Iowa |
| One winning ticket | 86 trillion lira ($75 million) | February 1999 | Small town in southern region of Italy |
| Norma Robbins, a 77-year old grandmother of 7. She made a mistake on her numbers and picked 23 instead of her usual 22 and as a result won BIG! | 5 | Feb. 3, 1999 | Victoria, BC (other winning ticket was sold in Western Canada) |
| 5 | Jan. 23, 1999 | Western Canada | |
| Alice & Kin Lam. Kin had previously won $100,000 on Super Loto | 1.8 | Jan. 16, 1999 | J. D. So Handy Store, Port Alberni, BC |
| US 67.1 | Jan. 16, 1999 (US Powerball) |
New Hampshire, US | |
| Paul-Armand Tremblay had recently retired | 1 | Jan. 10, 1999 (Celebration) | Alma, Québec |
| Peter Christensen, 46-year-old single construction worker | 1 | Jan. 10, 1999 (Celebration) | Calgary, Alberta |
| 33 employees of Foyer Grand-Mère, a senior's residence scheduled to close soon. Each member of the group pocketed $303,030, whose leader was Mrs. Jacqueline Dessureault. | 10 | Jan. 9, 1999 | Provi-Soir, Grand-Mère, Québec |
| Mohamed Helmy and his former wife, Rose, have spent much of the past decade squabbling over a winning Lotto 6/49 ticket. He bought the ticket in 1991 at a store where Rose was then working as a clerk, one of her three jobs. They'd been wed for 20 years and had five children. But the marriage was already unravelling and headed towards divorce. What Mohamed didn't do was tell Rose that he (or they) had hit the jackpot. Rose says this was a deliberate subterfuge to avoid giving her half the money. On March 4, 1991, Mohamed had his brother Andrew Helmy pick up the $2.5 million cheque. Rose Helmy became suspicious. It was her husband, not her brother-in-law, who'd been playing the lottery game for the past 12 years. Mohamed subsequently made several admissions, back in 1994 - to Rose, to his family, and to various lawyers, and to The Star. Yes, he had intended to hide his good fortune from Rose. Yes, he had sent his brother in his stead. Furthermore, he'd asked Andrew to deposit the cheque in his own bank account, a favour for which the brother would be paid a whopping $100,000. Except Andrew claimed in a deposition that he'd been promised $375,000 for his little errand. Mohamed then opened a trust account in the name of his sister, Foutna Thakib, depositing $700,000 with an "oral commitment" that no money would be withdrawn without his authorization. But, said Mohamed, he did agree to loan Thakib $170,000 to buy a house, with Mohamed holding the mortgage. In a statement of claim filed in 1994, Mohamed accused his sister of poaching a further $315,123.50. She subsequently claimed that it was she and Mohamed who had jointly purchased the ticket, so half the money was hers. This contradicted Thakib's original statement of defence, wherein she said it was Andrew who'd bought the ticket and Mohamed had merely agreed to invest the winnings, with all the future monies being dispersed to family members, including siblings in Egypt. Thakib said she'd also wired $1 million to a Cairo account. Mohamed pleaded poor back then, as he does still. He insists the money's all gone, at least that part which he didn't unwisely put into the custody of his brother and sister - lost in bad investments. Certainly Mohamed does not appear outwardly wealthy. He's still working in a glass-making company for about $15 an hour, according to sources. Rose believes her ex is hiding the dough. Her lawyer has put a "block" on three homes owned by Mohamed to prevent him from selling them. Mohamed has also made "some" child support payments to his kids. Perhaps a court will now be able to straighten out all these crooked and contradictory tales. In October 1999, the civil case finally wound its tortuous way into a Brampton courtroom. Only a few witnesses have been heard from thus far. As Mohamed said, years ago, "Money is nothing but trouble." |
2.5 | 1991 | Ontario |
| Results in Lottery Buddy ® are unofficial. | [Top of page] |