First lottery ticket purchase is more fruitful than most

By Kate Northrop

TIMMINS, Canada — A Canadian couple is celebrating two life-changing events — winning the $70 million (US$51.5 million) Lotto Max lottery jackpot and the birth of their newborn baby, all within days of each other.

A first-time lottery ticket purchase led to a staggering Lotto Max jackpot win of $70 million, compounding the already joyous occasion of welcoming a newborn baby into their family.

Jennifer Stuart-Flynn, 33, and Kyle Murray, 39, of Iroquois Falls have experienced life-changing events in the past three weeks, first with the birth of their baby and then with the discovery that they were Ontario's newest lottery millionaires.

Following a high-risk pregnancy and the delivery of their baby, the couple returned home safe and sound from a Toronto hospital. Murray went out to the Timmons airport to pick up his mother, who was visiting to help with the newborn. Meanwhile, Stuart-Flynn noticed on social media that the Lotto Max jackpot was at $70 million, so she texted Murray asking him to purchase a ticket for the upcoming draw.

Though Murray had lived and worked in Canada for the past several years, he was originally from the United States and had never bought a lottery ticket in Canada before. He asked the clerk at the retailer for some help in buying his very first Lotto max and Lotto 6/49 Quick Pick ticket and added the Encore option to his purchases.

He and his mother safely arrived home, and he tacked the tickets up on the fridge as a reminder to check them after the drawing.

After the drawing on Tuesday, Aug. 20, Stuart-Flynn heard that the jackpot-winning Lotto Max ticket was sold in their region. She was eating cereal at the kitchen table and thought to check their ticket.

"I scanned the ticket on the OLG App and heard the 'Winner/Gagnant' win tone," Stuart-Flynn told the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG). "I was in shock and not processing what was happening, so I shut down the OLG App and reopened it. I checked the ticket again and heard the same thing. That's when I called out to Kyle!"

Murray works from home in the financial technology industry. He was busy when he heard Stuart-Flynn call his name, so the exclamation from the other room did not initially leave an impression on him.

"I thought I heard 'Winner/Gagnant' coming from Jennifer's phone in the kitchen, but I wasn't completely focused on what she was saying until she yelled "I think we won!" Murray recalled. "I looked at her phone and read '$70 million winner,' but I was trying to figure out if it was displaying the maximum prize or if we actually won $70 million. I felt light-headed and that sensation ran through my whole body!"

Murray's mother, who was staying at home with them to help with the baby, was the first person to learn of the couple's win. It was tempting to reveal the news to anyone who cared to listen, but the family managed to keep their lips sealed while they celebrated at a local restaurant amongst themselves. Others around them were oblivious to the fact that they were newfound multi-millionaires.

"We wanted to shout the news, but we knew that in our small town, this type of news would travel very fast," Stuart-Flynn laughed. "We had to be careful not to spill the beans throughout the entire dinner."

Now that the couple have claimed their prize, the win is no longer a secret. However, they are still considering the possibilities for putting a $70 million prize to good use. One of those options entails buying Stuart-Flynn's sister a new house, something she always dreamed of doing if she ever won the lottery.

"My sister is the most kind, loving, and generous person in the world, so I want to make sure she is taken care of," she told OLG warmly.

Next on their to-do list is to provide for their children in a way that creates countless memories for years to come.

"We want to buy some land to set up a little farm with chickens and a highland cow," Murray explained. "We hope it will be a place where the kids can have fun and will want to return to as they get older."

While a lottery win of this magnitude would allow anyone to immediately afford luxuries, cars, and vacations, the sudden lifestyle upgrade alone is not the main takeaway. Rather, it is the recent past that makes the prospect of the future so sweet.

"The last few years have been a struggle, and everything we did was to make a better life for the kids," Stuart-Flynn added. "I realize my kids are going to have a much better life than I had and that makes me the most emotional. They are set and won't have to wonder or worry about anything anymore."

"We would not want anyone else by our side during this wild and unexpected experience," Stuart-Flynn and Murray both agreed.

Murray purchased their winning ticket at Esso on Algonquin Boulevard in Timmins for the Lotto Max drawing on Tuesday, Aug. 20. The ticket contained all seven winning numbers for the drawing, which were 2, 11, 12, 21, 24, 38, and 39. The Bonus Ball number was 33.

According to OLG, this Lotto Max jackpot win is the sixth jackpot win in a row in Ontario this year. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 33,294,800.

The Lotto Max jackpot currently stands at $80 million (US$ 58.86 million) for the next drawing on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. Lotto Max drawings take place every Tuesday and Friday at 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

All winning numbers, prizes, and odds are published on Lottery Post's Ontario Lottery Results page right after each drawing.

(Click to display full-size in gallery)Jennifer Stuart-Flynn, 33, and Kyle Murray, 39, of Iroquois Falls have experienced life-changing events in the past three weeks, first with the birth of their baby and then with the discovery that they were Ontario's newest lottery millionaires.