Press release

Highlights

• France Catudal Mailhot and Sébastien Mailhot are a mother-son duo. They won one of the $500,000 shares together. Sébastien Mailhot owns the Petro MC gas station, previously owned by his mother. At the time, she always bought a share of the Formule groupe tickets she sold. Unbeknownst to her, her son continued the tradition. She was wonderfully surprised to find out they were among the winners! Mailhot said he was thrilled for the customers who won part of the jackpot.

• Ginette Brault went through a whole range of emotions when she came to Loto-Québec to claim her prize. She was sure she’d won $50,000. “Ms. Brault, you didn’t win $50,000... Today, I’m giving you a cheque for $500,000!” the Winners’ Experience Technician from Loto-Québec told her. “I thought he didn’t understand what Formule groupe was about and that I only won $50,000 since we were a group of 10,” Brault explained. One of her dream projects is to travel. “The first country that comes to mind? Italy!”

• Donatella Cherubini discovered she was among the winners while camping. A friend who knew her lottery purchase habits, sure she was one of the Petro MC group winners, called her while she was on her cart through the campsite. Cherubini hurried back to her trailer to check her ticket with the Lotteries app, after which she realized she had won a share of the jackpot! “I’m happy to have won as a group. Yes, $5,000,000 is great, but 10 shares of $500,000 means 10 Estrie families are even happier now!” she shared.

• Nicole Grondin Gariepy could hardly believe it when she was told she’d won $500,000 after having her ticket checked at the Petro MC gas station. “No, no, no, no, no!” she cried, to which the attendant answered, “Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!”

• Jacques Olivier was the last winner to claim his half million. He was very emotional as he received his cheque. As the father to a little girl, he plans to use the prize money to ensure his family's financial security.

The 11 winners:

About Loto-Québec

Loto-Québec has been delivering entertainment to Quebecers for over 50 years, and its operations benefit Québec as a whole. In 2023, it paid out over $1.6 billion in prizes to lottery winners. Major prize winners are listed on the Winners page in the Lotteries section of lotoquebec.com. Read their stories.

The responsible commercialization of lottery and gaming products is central to Loto-Québec’s operations. The corporation has been granted the highest internationally recognized certification in responsible gaming by the World Lottery Association.