Press release

Montréal, December 29, 2016 – Just one month before the claim deadline, Loto-Québec found the two Laurentides winners of $1,000,000 it had been searching for since January 2016. Following Loto-Québec’s final plea to the public, father and son Serge Ouimet and Timmy Nepton-Ouimet came forward to the head office on December 29 with the winning Extra ticket of… January 27, 2016!

Summary
• Lottery: Extra
• Prize won: $1,000,000
• Category: Grand prize
• Draw date: January 27, 2016
• Winner’s place of residence: Laurentides
• Retailer: Dépanneur Voisin (1750 Chemin du Village, Saint-Adolphe-d’Howard)
• The retailer will receive a $10,000 commission, equal to 1% of the prize.
• Claim centre: Loto-Québec headquarters in Montréal

Highlights
• Serge Ouimet and son Timmy are always on the go for work. They picked up the habit of purchasing lottery tickets wherever the travel to, which means they end up with an impressive number of tickets that they only check a couple times a year.
• During a recent father and son activity, they decided to check their old tickets that they had scattered here and there. “They were everywhere: in the car, in drawers, in our pockets, in a bag in the garage,” said Timmy.
• When they were down to about fifteen left to check, they heard Loto-Québec’s spokesperson, Patrice Lavoie, announcing on LCN that Loto-Québec was looking for a winning ticket holder.
• Despite being tired of checking their tickets, they trod on, inspired by the fact that there was an unclaimed million waiting to be found.
• The non-winning tickets were piled on the table to be burned. In that pile was sitting a non-winning Lotto Max ticket… until Mr. Ouimet remembered that it included a number for Extra. He fished out the ticket and checked the Extra number…
• “Timmy, look!” The two realize that they have all 7 digits. Thinking that they won $1,000, they check the prize structure only to learn that they actually won $1,000,000! They agree to go to a Loto-Québec retailer to make sure.
• The self-serve ticket checker confirmed their million-dollar prize at Extra. They immediately took a picture of the screen with their phones! Then followed a flutter of text messages to Mr. Ouimet’s spouse, who thought he was joking, at first.
• They continued the day in the hot tub with a bottle of sake!
• The winners plan on taking a fishing expedition in the search of landing some swordfish. As for Mr. Nepton-Ouimet, he plans to travel with his spouse and purchase some quality tools for the furniture he makes. In my trade, I don’t have a retirement fund. So, I plan on making a few investments for the future, were a few wise words from the son.

Quotes
• “I never thought I would win; I thought it only happened to other people!” declared Mr. Ouimet.
• “Check your tickets! It’s not rigged, it truly works! It’s real!” said Mr. Ouimet.
• “This ticket came close to never being discovered. It certainly is fun to win the lottery!” confided the younger winner, Mr. Nepton-Ouimet.

A wave of winners in Québec
• Quebecers have been particularly lucky at the lottery of late. In just two weeks, three Lotto 6/49 jackpots were won in Québec: one for 5 million in Montérégie, and one for 4.9 million won in Montréal, and this one for 12.4 million.
• Let’s hope that the lucky streak continues as we approach the Lotto Max jackpot of $60 million plus 30 Maxmillions this Friday, December 30. On the following day, Lotto 6/49 will be offering 11 Guaranteed Prizes of one million dollars each in addition to the jackpot.

Claiming lottery prizes in gaming establishments
Lottery prizes may now be claimed at the gaming halls in Trois-Rivières and Québec City as well as at Loto-Québec’s offices in Montréal and Québec City. The same service is available at the Casino de Montréal, the Casino du Lac-Leamy, the Casino de Charlevoix and the Casino de Mont-Tremblant. For more information, see the Loto-Québec website page at loteries.lotoquebec.com/en/winners/you-have-won.

About Loto-Québec
Loto-Québec’s mission is to responsibly and efficiently manage games of chance in a controlled and measured fashion, in the interest of all Quebecers. Entertainment is at the heart of its activities. From January 1 to December 28, 2016, Loto-Québec paid out 97 prizes worth $1 million or more.