Tonight’s Lotto Max jackpot hits record

PICKERING, Ont. – Mansions. Boats. Cottages. And, for at least one hopeful Ontarian, a lot more cats.

Those are just some of the dreams fuelling a rush on tickets for tonight’s record $90-million Lotto Max jackpot, the largest single lottery prize ever offered in Canada. It got there after no winning ticket was sold for Tuesday’s $85-million draw.

At Smokers Corner, a convenience store in Pickering, Ont., the line to buy tickets has been long at times.

“It’s been crazy, actually,” said owner Issa Kakisa. “People coming in, spending a little more money than normal, and just everybody’s got a dream and wants that $90 million.”

Some are spending hundreds of dollars at a time, Kakisa said, and one customer dropped $2,000 on this draw alone. His store has some history with big wins, as they sold a winning ticket worth $1 million two years ago.

As for what people in line said they’d do with the money?

“I’d get a mansion, fill it with all of my cats ... I’d get more cats,” said Taylor Locke. She said she’d also buy a house for her mom, a boat and a cottage, and give a lot of the money to animal shelters and people experiencing homelessness.

Cindy O’Neill kept it practical. She said she’d pay off her mortgage, buy her brother a house, make sure her kids are looked after and save the rest for charity and travel.

Her husband, standing nearby, reminded her that he had his eye on a Land Rover. She laughed.

“Oh yeah, I’d buy him a Land Rover.”

Margaret Ward said she’d be happy with one of the smaller prizes of $100,000 or $1 million. But if she landed the full $90 million, she’d pay off a few debts and then go car shopping.

“I’d buy a new car, and I’d buy my husband a new car, and I’d buy my kids a car,” she said. “They’d all get a car.”

Javad Gezelbash, who is retired, bought two tickets for himself. He’d already bought three more the day before as part of a group purchase. If one of them hits, he has his plan ready.

“I’m going to be donating to a hospital, some of it,” he said. “And travelling around the world.”

Ralph Gomes isn’t retired yet, but he’d like to be. His wife had already bought a ticket, and he stopped in to buy a second one.

“I’m super excited,” he said.

The odds of winning the jackpot are roughly one in 33 million, which is about the same as flipping a coin and getting heads 25 times in a row.

What would it actually be like to win $90 million? According to one financial expert, it may not all be upside.

Wolfgang Klein, a Toronto-based portfolio manager with Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management who has worked with lottery winners, said a windfall that size can be a lot to handle.

“The psychological impact is something that they are really, really, probably not prepared for,” he said.

Klein said winners can feel euphoria, confusion and even guilt, and many feel obligated to help others out. People also tend to come out of the woodwork.

“It’d be fun to win $90 million … but be careful what you wish for,” he said. “All of a sudden, people you haven’t heard from in decades begin to communicate with you and become your friends once again.”

One of his clients won $5 million on Lotto 6/49 and found the experience bittersweet.

“Their children stopped working. They began to rely on the lottery winner for a monthly income,” Klein said. “Children, grandchildren, cousins, friends, charity. Where do you say no? When do you say no? And you have to learn to say no.”

His advice for the winner is to cash in on the ticket as soon as possible. He says even a very conservative portfolio of government bonds and GICs would produce a good income.

“Two per cent on $90 million? It’s $1.8 million a year,” he said. “You can do very well.”

Some fortunes never get collected. In 2022, a $70-million Lotto Max ticket was sold in Toronto’s Scarborough area, but a winner never came forward, and after a year the prize went back into the pool.

Another big prize could soon meet the same fate. The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation says a $40-million winning ticket sold last year in Grey County, Ont., is set to expire on Oct. 28.

As for who should win on Friday night?

“I hope someone who is a good person gets it,” said Locke, who has plans for her cats. “Hopefully it’s me.”