Press release

Montréal, November 10, 2020 — On October 25, Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean resident Yanick Montgrain won $1,042,304 while playing Powerbucks™ Arctic Gems on Loto-Québec’s gaming website, lotoquebec.com. This is the second Powerbucks™ progressive jackpot that’s been won in Québec in one week, after a Laval resident won $1,321,851 on October 18.

In summary

• Game: Powerbucks™ Arctic Gems
• Prize: $1,042,304
• Win date: October 25, 2020
• Winner’s place of residence: Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean
• Claim date: November 9, 2020

Highlights

• Yanick won a whopping $1,042,304 while playing Powerbucks™ Arctic Gems online, without even realizing.
• A customer service agent for the Loto-Québec Online Gaming team tried to reach the man several times to confirm his win.
• Instead, Yanick’s wife called back, thinking it was about a problem with the account password. To her surprise, the employee then realized that the couple had no idea about their windfall. She immediately asked to speak to Yanick, who’s the account holder.
• So it was on the phone that the lucky winner found out that he was now a millionaire. “You must be joking, this is for sure a joke.” he exclaimed upon finding out how much he’d won.
• Yanick, who’s a business owner, says he’s happy that he now has enough money to increase his company’s profile.

Powerbucks™

• Powerbucks™—which offers a progressive jackpot that starts at $1 million, as well as a fixed jackpot of $1 million—was already popular in other Canadian provinces when it was introduced on lotoquebec.com and in Québec casinos in 2016.
• Powerbucks™ is an innovative slot game that links online slots with land-based slot machines, connecting venues in Québec, Ontario, British Columbia and Manitoba.
• The large pool of players wagering online and in gaming establishments in all four provinces is what makes the progressive jackpot grow so quickly. The minimum bet is set at only 75¢.
• Since 2016, the Powerbucks™ slots at Québec casinos and on lotoquebec.com have paid out 13 prizes of $1,000,000 or more, for a total of $15.4 million.

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 November 9, 2020, Loto-Québec paid out 96 prizes of $1,000,000 or more to lottery winners. The Gagnant à vie and Grande Vie lotteries have provided 13 lucky winners with a lifetime annuity. Major prize winners are listed on the Winners page of the Lotteries website.