An Ottawa construction worker is $25 million richer after claiming his Lotto Max prize almost two weeks after the winning numbers were drawn.
Gerald Clement, 50, said he spent the last two weeks preparing himself for what his life will be like with $25 million.
"I'm so lucky to have a close-knit network of family and friends that I could turn to in this situation. It took me a long time to process this, and I checked my ticket at the self-scanner about five times," said Clement, who is single and has no children.
Clement claimed his $25-million prize from the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. prize centre in Toronto on Tuesday.
Clement's winning streak started in January when he won a free play on his Lotto Max ticket.
He kept playing the same numbers month after month, and continued to win free plays in almost every draw for the next eight months. His winning ticket was also a free play.
Now that he's a millionaire, Clement plans to trade in work at the construction site for a leisure life of travelling and golf.
"I'm going to do a hell-of-a-lot of golfing and fishing after this," said Clement, whose past jobs include a stint working in the reader and sales department at the Ottawa Citizen.
Clement bought the winning ticket at Michael's Confectionary on Somerset Street East. He is splitting the $50-million jackpot with a group of 10 people from Lac Saint. Jean, Que.
