Lotto 6/49 $68M winner not planning to quit his job anytime soon
Posted December 14, 2023 11:03 am.
Last Updated December 14, 2023 12:01 pm.
A Toronto man who came to Canada with one suitcase and a few dollars in his pocket is now a multimillionaire.
More than two months after the record-breaking Lotto 6/49 Gold Ball jackpot was won, Noel Patricio came forward during his birthday week to claim the $68 million prize.
“I was at work and I saw on TV somebody won in Toronto,” Patricio recalled. “My ticket is in my pocket and I checked and it says $68,000. Then I call my sister and I say ‘I win Lotto, $68,000.’ She asked me ‘How many zeros?’ and I said ‘Six zeros.'”
“‘No, that’s $68 million!'”
“I was surprised, shocked, nervous,” said Patricio. “All I could think was, is this a joke? Is this real? Will I wake up from this dream?”
In the days that followed, Patricio recalls listening to his colleagues at work talk about who might have won the multi-million dollar prize but he remained silent.
“I wanted to say ‘It’s me!’ But I kept quiet.”
Patricio says while he plans to work a little less he’s not ready to give up work altogether because, “I love the work I do and the people I work with, and that’s what makes my two jobs so meaningful to me. I want to be the same Noel.”
Patricio says he plans to use some of the money to renovate his current home that he purchased a few years ago, take his sisters on a dream vacation to Italy and indulge in his two favourite sports, tennis and basketball.
“I am a fan of professional tennis, so I’ll probably travel to see Rafael Nadal play live,” he said. “And I would also like to get myself season tickets to the Toronto Raptors.”
Before Patricio’s win the previous largest Lotto 649 jackpot win was in April 2023 when a $64 million ticket was sold in New Brunswick. A $64 million jackpot was also won in 2015 by a Mississauga resident.
