“I saw ‘$50 million’ and I thought it was an advertisement,” Turcotte recalled to journalists at a news conference on Monday, adding that she needed a woman on the cash register to point out that she was a winner. Turcotte and her husband were still not convinced until the news was confirmed by Loto-Quebec, and said to their children: “We won, but it may not be true.”
Turcotte’s success makes her one of the biggest lottery winners in Quebec’s history and she is determined to enjoy the money, although she is wary about spending too much very quickly and knows there is only so much of a difference that money can make. She joked: “Even when you win $50 million you’re not going to start eating six meals a day.”
Turcotte added: “We want to make the right choices, we don't want to hurt anyone, and money can slip through your fingers. We know that in some cases some unfortunate decisions have been made and that's probably what worries us.”
There have now been four occasions that someone from Quebec has won CA$50 million or more on Lotto Max. The game offers enormous jackpots and, when the top prize reaches CA$50 million, MAXMILLIONS also becomes active to give players more opportunities to win extra prizes worth CA$1 million each. Find out more about Lotto Max as players from Canada now look forward to the next game this Friday, when the jackpot will stand at CA$12 million. Tickets can also be purchased online as well as from authorised retailers, and fans will be eagerly hoping they can strike it lucky just like Turcotte and then start to think about the dreams they might like to live out.