A Surrey, B.C. man has won the largest single lottery prize in Canadian history.
Justin Simporios has come forward as the sole winner of the recent $80 million Lotto Max draw. In the past, there have been $80 million jackpots, but they've been divided between multiple winners.
At a ceremony in Vancouver on Thursday, May 15, Simporios was handed a giant (fake) cheque from BC Lotto.
"It's not sad tears, it's happy tears," he told the crowd.
The 35-year-old father bought his ticket just shortly before the draw on May 9. His family decided on hamburgers for dinner, and he did a grocery run to the Surrey Central Walmart for buns and cheese.
He had some extra cash, so he grabbed a $12 Quick Pick ticket, too.
That night he checked his ticket while with his wife and daughter.
"I opened the app, and it says $80 million was won in Surrey," he says. "So I made a joke right away, 'Hey baby, we're millionaires.'"
His wife was not impressed and told him to keep it down so their daughter could sleep.
He went on checking the ticket quietly.
"I was matching every number."
"I was using a flashlight because my daughter was sleeping," Simporios explains. "16, 17, 30...when it hit five out of seven, I thought, 'Hey, we might be millionaires because no one in Surrey had 5 out of 7.'"
He describes the win as a dream.
When he first moved to Canada, Simporios lived in Montreal. While there, a person he often rode the bus with won the lottery, which encouraged Simpirios to buy tickets.
The win is life-changing, the Filipino immigrant says, describing it as "generational wealth." He's already told his job he intends to quit, plans on helping his mom retire, and wants to set up his wife's family.
He also would like to do some travelling; an L.A. Lakers fan, he'd like to see LeBron James play, and he wants to take his wife and daughter to the Philippines (neither has been) for a family reunion.
Simpirios calls Surrey his "lucky city" and wants to stay in the area.
"This is so much money for us; I want to give back to the community," he adds.
