Truong matched the numbers 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 20 and 30 in the Lotto Max draw on Friday 26th October 2018. He had always entered those same numbers as they were sentimentally significant to him, combining family birthdays and personally important dates.
He saw the winning numbers straight away and knew he was a winner, but he went to his local store anyway and had the clerk print them off so he could check over the results again and again. Feeling too overwhelmed by the magnitude of his win, he kept the news to himself rather than tell his loved ones or contact lottery officials.
“I started to think about what this win would mean for my family," he explained at the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis office in St. Albert on Wednesday after finally claiming his money. "I realised it's going to change a lot of things and I wanted to make sure we were all ready and prepared for those changes.”
Truong had called out to his wife that he had won when he first checked the numbers, but didn’t tell her that it was the jackpot. He put the winning ticket, purchased at Pure Casino Yellowhead, in a safe and let the realisation of what had happened sink in. When he eventually claimed the money, 305 days had passed since the draw. The deadline is one year, so if he had waited another two months he would no longer have been eligible for the prize.
Plans For The Future
Admitting that he still felt shocked by the big win all these months later, Truong outlined how he would spend the money: “I’m thinking for the big one, pay the mortgage first, and I’m thinking about a holiday (when) everything’s done. But I’m not decided, and a lot of thinking has to be done.”
At 55 years of age, Truong regards himself as ‘still young, still strong’, so he is planning to return to work. He is also looking forward to seeing more of the world, saying: “I’m not sure where just yet; I think we’ll try to go everywhere.”
Truong arrived in Canada from Vietnam 36 years ago and his niece insisted there could not be a more deserving winner. Mina Truong, who joined her uncle at the announcement, said: “Coming here with nothing – nothing – after the Vietnam war, he worked. That’s all they did: work, save money to buy a house, their lives here, have a better life for their children, play the lottery, and finally after 30 years it pays off. You’re just really happy for them.”
Truong’s CA$60 million win is a record for the province of Alberta and one of the biggest Lotto Max jackpots to have ever been won. The maximum jackpot was only increased from CA$60 million to CA$70 million in May 2019.
The jackpot currently stands at CA$50 million ahead of the next draw on Friday night, following a sixth consecutive rollover on Tuesday night. There are nine prize tiers in Lotto Max, as well as additional games such as Encore and Extra depending on which regional corporation you play through. Find out more about Lotto Max ahead of the next draw.
