Canadian retiree delays checking lottery ticket, then discovers $50m win

Retired New Brunswick resident Shaun Ryan held the winning ticket to a $50m Lotto Max jackpot for days before checking it, choosing to delay the reveal simply to enjoy the anticipation. The Atlantic Lottery announced on 10 November that Ryan, a resident of Dalhousie, a small town on Chaleur Bay in Restigouche County, successfully matched all seven numbers in the 6 November draw to take home the massive $50m prize. The decision to delay checking the ticket came after local chatter alerted Ryan that the sole winning ticket for the draw had been purchased somewhere within his home county. “My wife asked if we had a ticket and then my son texted me and asked if we bought one,” Ryan said in statements released by the Atlantic Lottery. “My wife asked if I was going to go check it and I said, 'No, not yet. I want to keep the dream alive.'” When Ryan eventually checked the numbers at his home, he realised every single digit on his slip aligned with the drawn combination. “Boom, boom, boom,” Ryan recalled of the moment he verified the results. “My heart was racing.”A milestone for the householdThe multi-million-pound payout carries immediate life-changing news for the household. While Ryan is already retired, his wife, Colette, works as a teacher. The jackpot win means she can now step away from the classroom for good. The couple already possess differing views on how to spend their new-found freedom. Colette intends to spend her retirement traveling the globe. Ryan, on the other hand, prefers a quieter lifestyle and plans to stay at home to look after the family dogs. Securing the future of their large family remains the top shared priority. Ryan explained that a major portion of the funds will go directly toward supporting their seven children and their grandchildren.Supporting the local regionBeyond family allocations, Ryan expressed a clear desire to distribute a portion of the windfall toward community initiatives within northern New Brunswick. “There's a responsibility I feel toward the community and organizations that I want to be of service to and help them out in certain ways,” Ryan noted. “Fifty million dollars is a heavy load, and there's a lot to think of because there's a lot that could be done for the community.” While the Atlantic Lottery statement did not outline specific charities or projects earmarked for funding, Ryan acknowledged the sheer scale of the win remains difficult to grasp completely. “It's just unreal,” Ryan said. “It's a little overwhelming, but I'm happy to have the chance to feel it.”Retailer commission and tax rulesThe jackpot win also represents a significant financial event for the local business that processed the entry. According to rules set by the Atlantic Lottery, the retail vendor receives a seller's prize equivalent to one per cent of the total jackpot. Consequently, the Circle K convenience store in Dalhousie where Ryan bought his ticket will receive a $500,000 payout. Under Canadian tax regulations enforced by the Canada Revenue Agency, lottery jackpots are not treated as taxable income. Ryan will collect the entire $50m figure tax-free, though any future interest, investment returns, or capital gains generated from the capital will be subject to standard taxation.Recent Canadian lottery trendsRyan's multi-million-pound ticket arrived just 17 days after another massive payout in Western Canada. In the 20 October Lotto Max draw, four friends located in Calgary, Alberta, shared a record-breaking $90m jackpot, taking home $22.5m each. While Ryan delayed checking his ticket for a short period to savor the moment, other regional players have pushed deadlines far closer to the edge. Atlantic Lottery records show that crab fisherman Merel Chiasson from Bas-Caraquet, New Brunswick, left a winning Lotto 6/49 ticket on his bedroom dresser for 347 days following an April 2023 draw. Chiasson validated the slip just 19 days before its official expiration date to claim a $64m Gold Ball jackpot, which stood as the largest lottery payout in Atlantic Canadian history prior to recent draws.