MONCTON, NB, Sept. 20 /CNW/ - Shawn MacDonald of Halifax, N.S., says he
spends about $5 each week playing lottery because "you never know what can
happen." His latest purchase has made him $7.5 million richer. He was the
single top prize winning ticket holder for the Sept. 17 Lotto Super 7 draw.
"I don't know how to describe it," said the 33 year-old federal
government employee. "It means I can live a life less stressful and a lot more
comfortably."
Mr. MacDonald, who is originally from Port Hawkesbury, N.S., discovered
his win at about 11 p.m. on Friday when he checked Atlantic Lottery's website.
Certain he'd made a mistake, he and his partner Cheryl Beesley then checked
his numbers at all the lottery websites across Atlantic Canada. It was a
sleepless night for the couple who waited until 7 a.m. on Saturday to share
the news with the rest of their family.
Mr. MacDonald says he has no plans to retire or change his lifestyle. "I
have no plans to retire. I'll enjoy life more now that I can start dreaming
and making things happen." He does see a new vehicle and a house in his
future. "I've lived in an apartment long enough," he said, smiling.
The ticket was purchased at the Lotto Booth in Scotia Square Mall. They
will receive a seller's prize of $75,000.
SUPER 7
Fun Facts & Tidbits
- $7.5 million is $4.12 for every Atlantic Canadian over the age of
majority (based on StatsCan 2003).
- You could purchase more than 600,480 cooked lobsters, or
682,438 pounds of scallops or 7,575,757.5 pounds of mussels at today's
sale price of 99 cents per pound.
- $7.5 million loonies weigh approximately 105,000 pounds.
Here's how some of our players have fun picking their lottery numbers.
How do you play?
- A lady puts ping pong balls, each with one of the 49 numbers marked on
it, into a cardboard box. Then she puts her cat in the box to play and
the first six balls the cat flings out of the box determine the
numbers she will play! She said that this has worked for her at least
once... she didn't win a top prize but she won a pretty good one.
- A man from Annapolis Valley, N.S. won a "substantial prize" by using
the numbers in one of those little horoscope books they sell in store.
- A lady from Dieppe, N.B. went to a fortune teller who told her that
she would win money so she decided to try her luck and bought a
lottery ticket. She did end up winning some money!
About the game...
- Lotto Super 7 is a national lottery game offered every Friday
throughout Canada. Like Lotto 6/49, it is a pari-mutuel game, which
means that if more than one player correctly matches all of the
numbers drawn, those players share the jackpot amount.
- On May 15, 2003, Lotto Super 7 had Canada's largest lottery jackpot
ever - $34 million.
- The Super 7 jackpot from April 23, 2004, worth $30 million, was the
biggest jackpot ever won in Atlantic Canada. Trevor Hunter of
Boisetown, N.B. won that Super 7 jackpot in April 2004.
- Other major Lotto Super 7 winners in Atlantic Canada include:
- Hubert & Aline Melanson from Comeauville, N.S., who won
$3,025,892.30 on the May 24, 2002 draw.
- Andrew Evans from Brookfield, N.S., who won $9,722,642.10 on the
July 20, 2001 draw.
- Costing $2 each, Lotto Super 7 tickets are available at more than
6,200 lottery retail locations throughout Atlantic Canada.
- The odds of winning the Super 7 top prize are approximately 1 in
20 million.
- Since its inception in 1976, more than $3.5 billion in prizes on
traditional lottery products have been awarded to Atlantic Lottery's
players. In 2003-04, $331 million in prizes were awarded to our
players. Atlantic Lottery awards an average of $904,000 every day
- In Canada, winners don't pay tax on their winnings. They receive their
payment in full when they claim their prize. In other words, today's
winner of $7.5 million will receive a $7.5 million cheque.
- While other games offered by Atlantic Lottery, such as KENO, Atlantic
PAYDAY and TAG, feature smaller prizes with better chances of winning,
Lotto 6/49 and Lotto Super 7 are obvious favourites with many lottery
players for their large jackpot prizes. Increased sales and player
excitement when the jackpot is high indicates to us that large
jackpots are the most popular feature of these games. Lotto 6/49 and
Lotto Super 7 sales can double or triple when a jackpot is this high.
For further information: MEDIA CONTACT: Jody Coulibaly, Corporate
Marketing & Communications, 1-800-561-3942
| 
