Kitchener man wins $1M lottery prize

Melvin C. picks up his Gold Ball Draw cheque at the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto. (Source: OLG)

Following a Sunday morning routine has finally paid off for a Kitchener man.

Melvin C. won $1 million from Lotto 6/49’s Gold Ball Draw on April 18.

“I’ve followed the same routine for nearly 40 years,” he told the OLG while picking up his prize in Toronto. “I wake up, make my coffee, grab my phone and check my tickets.”

Melvin, a 68-year-old retired factory worker, initially thought he won $1,000.

“As I sipped my coffee and woke up a bit more, I realized it was actually far bigger than that! It suddenly hit me that there were more zeros in the prize amount. I couldn’t believe my eyes, and my body started shaking. I was completely shocked!”

He then woke up his wife.

“When I told her, she was instantly wide awake,” Melvin recalled. “I showed her my phone screen, and she stared at it for a moment, processing what she was seeing. Then it hit her just as strongly as it had hit me.”

The moment, he said, felt “surreal.”

The couple plans to use the money to buy a house.

“I’m finally going to leave apartment living behind,” Melvin said. “I’ve always dreamed of having a home of my own. One thing I especially want is a deck!”

The winning ticket was purchased at the Petro-Canada on Imperial Road South in Guelph.