Construction worker wins big on Friday the 13th

NEWS RELEASE

ONTARIO LOTTERY & GAMING CORPORATION

************************* Ottawa resident wins $25 million Lotto Max draw

TORONTO (August 24) - Gerald Clement of Ottawa has been playing the same lottery numbers, month after month, always hoping for a big win.

This past Friday, August 13 was truly his lucky day, as his numbers were a match for half of the $50 million Lotto Max jackpot, that had remained un-won for five consecutive weeks in a row.

Clement will receive a prize of $25 million.

Clement is a long-time Ottawa resident and local construction worker.

In January, Clement won a free play on a Lotto Max ticket which he cashed in for another ticket.

For the next eight months, Clement continued to win a free play in almost every draw on the same ticket he had started with in January.

When his numbers were drawn as the jackpot numbers, Clement said that ironically, it was a delayed birthday present.

"I turned 50 in July, only a few weeks before my big win," he explained.

While Ontario waited for him to come forward, Clement spent a week preparing himself for the life-changing moment when he receives $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 the happy winner, at the OLG Toronto Prize Centre to claim his prize.

Travelling is in the future for Clement, who hasn't travelled in 10 years and is looking forward to a life of leisure activities.

"I'm going to do a hell-of-a-lot of golfing and fishing after this," said Clement.

The winning ticket was purchased at Michael's Confectionary on Sommerset Street East in Ottawa.

OLG is a provincial agency responsible for province-wide lottery games and gaming facilities.

Since 1975, OLG lotteries, casinos, slots, and resort casinos have generated more than $32 billion for the benefit of the Province of Ontario.

Gaming proceeds support Ontario's hospitals, amateur sport, recreational and cultural activities, communities, provincial priority programs such as health care and education, and local and provincial charities and non-profit organizations through the Ontario Trillium Foundation.

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