Via Atlantic Lottery / Loto Atlantique Facebook
For 347 days, Merel Chiasson of Bas-Caraquet, N.B. had a Lotto 6/49 ticket worth $64-million on his bedroom dresser and he didn’t know it.
Chiasson came into the Atlantic Lottery head office in Moncton, N.B. to claim his prize – the largest lottery prize ever won in Atlantic Canada – just 19 days before it was set to expire one year after the draw.
He said he had heard people in the area talking about the unclaimed $64-million Lotto 6/49 Gold Ball Jackpot from the April 15, 2023 draw many times, but he never imagined he could be the winner. Instead, he kept the ticket among a collection of other unchecked tickets at home, where he regularly checks them one month’s worth at a time shortly before they are set to expire.
As a result of this routine, he said he was never concerned he might miss out on a prize.
“I’ve always done it like that and I never thought I would win big, so I leave the tickets there and didn’t worry too much about it,” he said, adding with a laugh there could be another winner in the stack just waiting to be collected. “It’s possible.”
When he finally went to check the ticket at a local retailer, Chiasson said he looked at the printout but wasn’t sure if he had won $64,000 or $64 million.
“There was a lot of zeros, so I wasn’t sure,” he said. When he picked up his partner from work and showed her the validation slip, she knew right away that he was the $64-million winner everyone had been looking for. Even then, Chiasson said he wouldn’t believe it until he came to Atlantic Lottery to confirm it was true.
A crab fisherman for 40 years before starting work at a local fish plant a few years ago, Chiasson said the Gold Ball Jackpot win will allow him to retire for good. More than anything, he said he’s looking forward to using the prize to help out his family.
“I don’t want anything big,” he said. “It’s not going to change me, I’m still the same person.”
Chiasson has been regular player on Lotto 6/49 for many years, as well as games like Lotto Max and Set for Life. He said he intends to keep playing the lottery and he even bought some more tickets after validating his winning ticket.
The winning Lotto 6/49 ticket was purchased at Depanneur Pokemouche in Pokemouche, N.B. The retailer will receive a one per cent seller’s prize.
