Edmonton man waits 8 months to claim $1.6M lottery prize: 'Dumbfounded'

It took almost a year for an Edmonton resident to realize that his Lotto 6/49 ticket would make him $1,666,666.70 richer.

After buying a ticket in the March 11, 2023 draw, it was on Nov. 9, that Giuseppe Bruno finally decided to check a few lottery tickets he had bought in the past.

“I saw the amount on my screen and yelled for my wife,” said Bruno, who at the moment was spending quality time with his grandchildren.

“She came in the room asking what all the hollering was about — we were both dumbfounded!”

Bruno then waited an extra couple days to check the ticket again, before he officially claimed the life-changing jackpot on Nov. 11, said a WCLC spokesperson to Yahoo Canada.

According to Lotto 6/49, winners have exactly one year from the draw date to claim their prize. In just four months, Bruno would have missed his chance, but luckily, he decided to check the Lotto Spot App at the right time.

Bruno’s win was such a shock, that he had to double-check that he had actually won. He waited for his children to come home, and asked them to take a look at his ticket for him.

“We weren’t sure it was real,” said Bruno. “It’s very surreal — and really exciting!”

Bruno and his family don’t yet have a long-term plan for how they want to spend their prize money, but in the immediate future, they plan to share some of their winnings with family and loved ones.

“To be honest, we’re still processing and unsure what to do with it,” said Bruno.

“We’ll pay off some bills and share with our family, but after that, the money will probably just sit in the bank for a while.”

Bruno matched six out of six numbers, 6, 13, 21, 29, 33, 49 on his $8 Lotto 6/49 ticket. It was purchased from Mother Hubbard’s Foodstuffs, located at 7923 106 Avenue NW in Edmonton.

The Lotto 6/49 Classic Jackpot draw is offered every Wednesday and Saturday, and is made up of six numbers drawn from a range of 1 to 49. If a ticket sold for the draw matches all six numbers in exact order, then that ticket wins the Classic Jackpot $5 million prize.

If more than one ticket purchased matches all six Classic Draw numbers, then that same $5 million jackpot is shared between multiple winners. In Bruno’s case, his lucky ticket was one of three that matched all six numbers, which means that the $5 million jackpot prize was split between three prize winners, with each taking home $1,666,666.70.

The two other tickets matching the six Classic Draw numbers on the March 11, 2023 draw were sold in Ontario.

Tools to stop gambling

If you're looking to take a break from gambling, self-exclusion programs can be effective tools. See here for resources that are available across Canada.

Related lotto stories from across Canada

• Toronto man wins record $68M lottery — continues going to work without telling his colleagues

• B.C. resident decides to retire after $1M lottery win — would you do the same?

• B.C. couple wins $5M lottery prize, plans to treat family to 'beers, pizza and champagne'

• Quebec lottery player wins $25,000 a year for life — but opts for different prize

• Couple wins $55M Lotto Max jackpot on Halloween: 'He was shaking, he was white and he was sweating'