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<\/p>\nAfter a shocking $55-million lottery win, one lucky Canadian said he\u2019s ready to get into a pretty pricey new hobby.<\/p>\n
Fran\u00e7ois Masse lives in Hawkesbury, Ont., and is a retiree who spent his career in education. As he was leaving the store one day, he remembered that he still had a Free Play ticket to redeem.<\/p>\n
\u201cI added Encore for $1, put the ticket in my wallet, and went on about my day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He recalled that he had forgotten about the three tickets in his wallet until a few days later, when he decided to check them using the OLG app.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first ticket earned me a Free Play, the second ticket won me $40, and the last one was the big one!\u201d he said. \u201cI saw the \u2018Big Winner\u2019 message on the screen and went numb with disbelief \u2014 it was like the world stopped for a minute!\u201d<\/p>\n
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OLG<\/p>\n
Masse said it was \u201can out-of-body experience\u201d discovering that he had won the Lotto Max jackpot in the Jan. 9 draw<\/a> \u2014 he was now $55 million richer. He said he paced around the house for five minutes in complete disbelief until he finally called OLG to start the prize claim process.<\/p>\n \u201cI just looked out my window and thought about what this meant for me and my family \u2014 my kids, my mom, and my brothers. I was overwhelmed with gratitude,\u201d he shared. \u201cIt took about three hours to process the news before I called my family to tell them. Hearing the words \u2018I won $55\u00a0million\u2018 come out of my mouth felt even more unreal!\u201d<\/p>\n Despite the happy but very emotional news, he said his family flat-out thought he was joking at first. He said they thought he was \u201ccommitted\u201d to his prank.<\/p>\n OLG<\/p>\n He wanted to find a unique way to tell his kids the news in person, so he came up with a story about giving them late Christmas presents.<\/p>\n \u201cI told them I had a gift on back order for them, and I bought them each an espresso machine as a ruse,\u201d he said. He then asked his children to scan the ticket themselves using the app, leaving them in shock.<\/p>\n Masse recalled that \u201cthere were a lot of happy tears.\u201d<\/p>\n While at the OLG Prize Centre to pick up his cheque, he said he\u2019s already planning dream vacations that had previously been out of reach. In addition to family trips, he said he wants to go to Formula 1 races around the world, tour NFL stadiums, and take some golf trips. He said there might also be a new home or car in his future.<\/p>\n In addition to his many interests, he\u2019s also excited about a new hobby.<\/p>\n OLG<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve also always loved horses. I never actually rode any, but I bought a stable,\u201d he said. \u201cSo when people ask if I\u2019m into horses \u2014 well, I guess I am now!\u201d<\/p>\n Masse said he wants to make sure thathis family is well taken care of.<\/p>\n \u201cLegacy is important to me. I want to make sure I have the right advisors to guide me before making any big decisions,\u201d he stated. \u201cThis win isn\u2019t just for me \u2014 it\u2019s for my family and the legacy we\u2019ll leave behind.\u201d<\/p>\n Masse bought his winning ticket at Asselin\u2019s Your Independent Grocer on Cameron Street in Hawkesbury.<\/p>\n All forms of gambling, including the lottery, involve risk and outcomes are based on chance. Individuals are strongly advised to gamble responsibly. If you are experiencing any signs of gambling-related issues,\u00a0check out these resources<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After a shocking $55-million lottery win, one lucky Canadian said he\u2019s ready to get into a pretty pricey…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":521467,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[45,49,48],"class_list":{"0":"post-521466","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=521466"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521466\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/521467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=521466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=521466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=521466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"lottery\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Francois_06-scaled.jpg\"\/ "\\"\\"")
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