Press release

Montréal, December 14, 2020 — On November 19, a table of nine people won the  $491,518 Bad Beat Jackpot while playing Texas Hold’em online. The player with the winning hand, Montérégie resident Hugo Richer, won $122,879, while the one with the losing hand, Xin Qi, also a Montérégie resident, won $245,759. The other seven players at the table each took home $17,554.

Highlights

• Just before leaving, after he had dinner at his parents’ house, Hugo decided to play a little poker on his computer with his mother. When he saw Xin Qi wager more money, he knew something was up.
• “When I saw the eight of spades, I started to jump around the house! It caps off the year nicely!” shared Hugo. The card earned him $122,879, i.e. the winning bad-beat jackpot hand, while his opponent took home $245,759.
• The other players at the table pocketed a cool $17,554 each.
• The win couldn’t come at a better time, as Hugo is looking to buy property. The lucky winner is also considering using part of the sum to finance a future trip, which he’ll go on once circumstances allow.
• For his part, Xin wants to wait a little while before making any plans on how he’ll spend the money.

COVID-19: How to claim your prize

As part of the collective effort to stop the spread of COVID-19 and protect the health and safety of its customers and employees, Loto-Québec has reopened its prize claim offices in Montréal and Quebec City by appointment only, and only for prize claims amounting to $10,000 or more. Right now, the safest and most efficient way to claim a prize amounting to less than $10,000 is by mail. Prizes amounting to $600 or less can be claimed at any Loto-Québec retailer.

Please note: Owners of physical lottery tickets with an expiry date between March 17 and September 17, 2020, inclusively who’ve won a prize will have an additional six months to claim it. The payment terms for prizes won on lotoquebec.com remain the same.

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. Between January 1 and December 6, 2020, Loto-Québec paid out 105 prizes of $1,000,000 or more to lottery winners. The Gagnant à vie and Grande Vie lotteries have provided 14 lucky winners with a lifetime annuity. Major prize winners are listed on the Winners page of the Lotteries website.