$70M Lotto Max winners kept prize a secret from family for 2 months
For nearly two months, Doug and Enid Hannon of Lakefield kept a big secret from their entire family – a $70 million secret.
The couple, who have been married for 51 years, are Ontario's newest multi-millionaires after winning the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot in the February 20 draw.
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Even though Enid purchased the Quick Pick Lotto Max ticket at a grocery store while on the way to their camp, it was Doug who discovered the big win the day after the draw, when he checked the ticket on the OLG App.
"I was completely unaware that a winning ticket had been sold in our area. So, when I saw 'Big Winner' on the phone screen, I was shaking. My heart was pounding. I had to stare at it for a while and process all those zeroes. Then I had to check it a few more times."
Doug, who has been retired for a few years, decided not to mention anything to his wife until she got home from work.
"I went to the garage and buried my head in some work while I struggled with disbelief and thought about our next steps," Doug said. He made sure dinner was ready when Enid got home and waited until after they ate to share the news.
"Doug told me to come into the computer room, and the OLG website was on the computer screen. He told me to check the numbers on the ticket. When I realized we had won a prize, I first thought it was a $70,000 win. Doug told me to recount all the zeros, and that's when it hit me that we had won $70 million," Enid said.
That's when the emotions let loose.
"We hugged and cried and started talking about this wonderful opportunity we now have to help family and others," she said.
The couple decided to keep this multi-million dollar win amongst themselves for a while – they even kept it a secret from their grown children and grandchildren.
- Download the CTV News app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates sent to your email inbox
They agreed first to get financial and legal advice as they started to make some plans for the money.
Not telling anyone was difficult for Enid as she is very open and expressive with all who know her.
"Keeping this secret was killing me," she said.
About a week before collecting their prize at the winner celebration, Doug and Enid finally told their children and grandchildren about their good fortune. Everyone was in disbelief and extremely happy for them.
During the celebration, the couple shared a few of their plans for some of the money.
Doug, who loves the outdoors, said he wants to travel.
"I would like to travel across Canada to experience the beautiful nature of this country from coast to coast," Doug said.
Enid, who is about to retire, is excited about starting some long-awaited renovations to their home.
"I have been dreaming about a new kitchen for years, and now I will get it, along with some other improvements to the house, because we love where we live, and we don't want to move," she said.
The couple both agree that the number one priority for this money is their family.
"Our family is most important; we want to share this with them. I want to ensure everyone is safe, secure and well taken care of."
They also plan to share some of their winnings with community causes close to their hearts.
At the end of the winner celebration, the Hannons decided to let the secret out to their extended family members. They invited them to a special family meeting where they revealed the $70 million win and a promise of a big family trip to celebrate together.
"This is truly a blessing for us and our family," said Enid and Doug. "Like many people, you always hope to win the lottery, but we never dreamt this would happen to us. We are so very thankful."
The winning ticket was purchased at Kinmount Independent Grocer on Kawartha Lakes County Rd 121 in Kinmount.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6975797.1721835642!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
Bank of Canada cuts interest rate, signals more to come if inflation keeps dropping
The Bank of Canada has decreased its policy interest rate for the second consecutive time and signalled more cuts are coming if inflation continues to ease.
Wildfire north of Calgary prompts evacuation alert, highway closures
A wildfire is prompting evacuations and highway closures north of Calgary.
2 Canadians being 'sent home immediately,' removed from Olympic team after drone incident
An analyst and an assistant coach with Canada Soccer are being removed from the Canadian Olympic Team and 'sent home immediately,' according to the Canadian Olympic Committee.
Russian man is among those arrested in plots targeting Paris Olympics
French authorities have foiled several plots to disrupt the 2024 Olympics, including arresting a Russian man in one of them, officials said Wednesday, just days before the opening ceremony of the Summer Games in Paris.
BREAKING 2 dead, 2 injured after 'gun battle' outside Toronto plaza: police
Two people are dead and two others suffered serious injuries following a shooting that police have described as a 'gun battle' outside a plaza in Scarborough, Ont. early Wednesday morning.
EXCLUSIVE Canadian company at the centre of alleged international pyramid scheme: authorities
Foreign governments say hundreds of thousands of people in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka lost savings to a company headquartered in Canada. This investigation from the IJF and CTV News shines a new light on how Canadian shell companies and registries were used to pull off the scheme.
Wildfire evacuees ordered to leave Jasper find relief after long journey to safety
Some wildfire evacuees who were trapped in traffic for hours while leaving Jasper National Park say they are feeling relieved to have found safety.
Man who attacked author Salman Rushdie charged with supporting terrorist group
A man who severely injured author Salman Rushdie in a frenzied knife attack in western New York faces a new charge that he supported a terrorist group.
Meta takes down thousands of Facebook accounts running sextortion scams from Nigeria
Meta says it has taken down about 63,000 Facebook accounts in Nigeria that were engaging in financial sextortion scams — along with groups and pages that were trying to organize, recruit and train new scammers.