Ontario resident jokes he now has a '$1 million wife' after huge lotto win

One Ontario resident got the shock of a lifetime with a life-changing lottery win, and now gets to joke about his lucky strike by referring to his newly wealthy spouse as a "million-dollar wife."

Roy Benotto, a 55-year-old father and grandfather, walked into a Pioneer Snack Express on Victoria Street in Alliston and walked out with a winning MAXMILLIONS ticket that would ultimately score him $1 million in the October 7, 2022 LOTTO MAX draw.

The occasional lottery player — who only purchases tickets when the jackpots are high — said that he was "at home with my wife checking my tickets using the OLG App when I saw the Big Winner screen appear," while at the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto to collect his winnings.

"I thought 'No way' and checked it a few more times to be sure," he says, and upon realizing what had just happened, Benotto said, "I started shaking, and after a few choice words, my wife came over to see for herself."

His wife thought that he was playing some sort of prank on her — an apparent recurring theme among lottery winners — saying that she wasn't convinced until she got a closer look at the screen displaying all those zeros.

"It was such an unbelievable moment. It's the best feeling in the world – I can't wait to see the looks on our children’s faces when we surprise them at Christmas."

Benotto plans to share his winnings with his wife and kids, joking with OLG officials that "I have a million-dollar wife now."

He intends to put his winnings toward home renovations and travel, saying that his "first stop" will be "a sunny beach vacation."