Saturday’s Lotto 6/49 jackpot largest in Canadian history at $55M
Posted April 11, 2013 9:47 am.
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The biggest lottery jackpot in Canadian history — worth an estimated $55 million — will be up for grabs in Saturday night’s Lotto 6/49 draw.
The jackpot breaks the previous record of $54.3 million in October 2005. A group in Alberta won that cash with a single Lotto 6/49 ticket.
“Whenever we have jackpots that go up this high we do see astronomical ticket sales,” Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. spokeswoman Sarah Kiriliuk told CityNews.ca. “I’m guessing we’re going to see record sales.”
Kiriliuk didn’t have ticket sales forecasts available, but to give a comparison the OLG sold $52 million in tickets in Ontario alone for the $50-million jackpot in June 2010.
If there’s no winning ticket from Saturday’s draw, the jackpot could grow to $70 million for Wednesday’s draw.
So what are the odds of winning the $55 million with a single ticket? It’s 13,983,816 to one.
Lotto players across the country may be practicing their “happy dance” after Toronto grandmother Maria Carreiro showed off her celebratory moves earlier this week when she claimed her $40-million Lotto Max prize.
“Every person has told us that it hasn’t gone to a better, [more] deserving family,” Carreiro’s daughter Manuela explained, before breaking down in tears at the cheque presentation on Monday. “My dad works so hard and we’ve been struggling so much. Forty million is so much money. It’s a blessing.”
Tickets for the $55-million jackpot will be sold until 9 p.m. on Saturday, the OLG said.
