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Missing $20,000,000 Lotto Max jackpot ticket found in man's pocket after two months

Jerry Knott, $20 million LOTTO MAX winner (Western Canada Lottery Corporation)

Jerry Knott from Manitoba was sitting on a $20 million winning Lotto Max ticket for almost two months before he realized he was a lottery winner.

The Wasagamack local, whose daughter got married in Winnipeg in late August, purchased a ticket for the Aug. 24 draw at Drifters Restaurant & Service, located at Highway Junctions 11 & 313 in Lac du Bonnet.

It was only when he visited Winnipeg again in mid-October that he found the winning ticket in his pocket.

“I saw a two and a bunch of zeroes and thought, ‘Cool! I won $20,000,’” he said when claiming his prize. “The store retailer looked at me with wide-eyes and said, ‘This is the missing ticket!’”

“I didn’t know what she was talking about until she scanned it again and I saw there were a few more zeroes than I had originally thought... That’s 20 and six zeroes – $20 million!”

If a wedding and a $20 million Lotto Max isn't exciting enough, Knott was also making his life-long dream come true over the summer.

“A while ago my father set up some reserve status land on Big Stone Lake,” he explained. “My brother and I decided to build some cottages on the lake to be used as a treatment centre or a wilderness experience.”

“We were inspired by all of the big companies that have come up North to build remote fly-in fishing resorts. We thought, ‘If they can do it without even knowing the land, we definitely can too!”

Knott revealed that most of the money from his big win will to go toward further development around the lake, in addition to sharing the prize with his wife and children.

“I’m looking forward to building another five cottages to expand our dream,” he said. “It’s nice to know we will be able to put money into something that will better our community.”

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