Press release

Montréal, December 22, 2022 — Seven winners of the $40 million jackpot in the December 16 Lotto Max draw met for the first time at Loto-Québec headquarters. They were there to receive their share of the jackpot, i.e., a cheque for $4 million, with members of the media present. Talk about a great way to kick off the holiday season! Three shares have yet to be claimed—as such, Loto-Québec is calling on all Québec players to check their tickets.

The winners are:

• Jovita Cruz Deladia San Jose, Montreal
• Belen Quinola Desacada, Montreal
• Ransfor K. Churcher, Montreal
• Edmond Protoduari, Laval
• Than Lan Phan, Montreal
• Rosalinda Elupre Arunga, Montreal
• Joseph Agero, Montreal

Statement

“With Christmas just a few days away, I’m delighted that the jackpot was won by a group. That’s 10 families who’ve suddenly become multimillionaires, which is fantastic! Last year, Loto-Québec awarded close to $1.5 billion to lottery winners. We’re so proud to be contributing to the community in this way,” stated Jean-François Bergeron, President and Chief Executive Officer, Loto-Québec.

A second win for the Association québécoise de l’épilepsie

The winning ticket was sold at the Plaza Côte-des-Neiges kiosk, which is managed by the Association québécoise de l’épilepsie (AQE). This is the non-profit organization’s second windfall in the span of a few years! In fact, in addition to this $400,000 commission, the AQE received a $500,000 commission in 2019 for selling a $50 million winning ticket at another kiosk it operates in Brossard.

Highlights

• For once, Jovita Cruz Deladia San Jose decided to give a group ticket a try. When she went to check her ticket, the clerk told her that she’d won a major prize because there was a slew of zeros, but he had as much trouble counting them as she did! She says she dreams of travelling to Belgium to taste authentic Belgian chocolates!

• After learning that she’d won, Belen Quinola Desacada quickly alerted her relatives and told them that she needed to talk to them. While they were expecting the worst, her family members were given some very good news in the end! The winner says she plans to buy a house, among other things.

• Ransfor K. Churcher remained eerily calm when his spouse realized that he’d won $4,000,000, and not $4,000 as he had thought. The same can’t be said for his spouse, who started shouting for joy throughout the entire house!

• While he isn’t considering retirement just yet, Edmond Protoduari has started joking that he plans to go on vacation... quite often!

• Than Lan Phan thought there’d been a mistake when he first went to check his ticket. Now that he knows his win is legit, he says he plans on purchasing a home.

• Rosalinda Elupre Arunga shared that she regularly purchases lottery tickets, no matter the jackpot size. She was at the mall with her niece when they decided to make a stop at the lottery kiosk. Clearly, it was Elupre Arundga’s lucky day!

Since the launch of Lotto Max in September 2009, Québec players have won over $3 billion with this lottery game. This is the 40th Lotto Max jackpot to have been won in Québec. The last two $70,000,000 jackpots were won by Québec Lotto Max players in the June 7, 2022, and October 9, 2022, draws. In addition to these major prizes, 211 Maxmillions, each worth $1,000,000, have been won by Québec players.