$35m Lotto Max Win Kept Secret for Nearly Two Months

How good are you at keeping secrets? It’s not an easy task but Gino Torres from Toronto, Canada, is pretty good at it. He won a $35 million Lotto Max prize in June and has only just began telling people about it.

The 29-year-old was one of two who shared the $70 million jackpot in the draw held on June 22. Also scooping $35 million was a ticket holder from British Columbia.

Mr Torres has recently graduated from college and kept secret about his win until receiving his cheque. “I wanted to make sure it was real before I surprised my family and friends with this incredible news,” said the Lotto Max winner.

It took a few days for him to discover he had become a millionaire. He took his Lotto Max ticket to a local store to be checked and initially thought he’d won $35,000. Still believing that to be true, he went to another store, checked his ticket again and then realized he’d won $35 million.

Stomach in Knots

“My stomach was in knots as I was thinking about what was happening,” recalled the Lotto Max winner. Still in a state of disbelief, he took his ticket to another store to be verified and then the winning bell on the terminal.

Speaking about how he will spend his Lotto Max winnings, he is going down a familiar route. He will ensure that his family is looked after and will make some long-term investments. Also planned is making some charitable donations, home renovations and travelling across Canada, Europe and Asia. He also plans to commission some custom Indigenous art.

15 Minutes of Tears

The other winner of the $35 million Lotto Max jackpot was Gary Hill from Kamloops in British Columbia. He’s a retired truck driver who says that “my legs went like spaghetti, and I grabbed the wall,” when discovering his amazing luck. He was so shocked that he fell on his bed and spent 15 minutes crying. The 61-year-old plans on travelling to Denmark when possible.

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