Kitchener man wins over $750K on two separate, 12 pick soccer parlays

Mengsteab Zerai from Kitchener is collecting a total of $750,048.40 from two different soccer parlay bets he placed. (Source OLG)

A man from Kitchener is collecting a total of $750,048.40 from two different soccer parlay bets he placed.

Mengsteab Zerai purchased one Proline ticket with a $25 bet, another for $50, and made two separate 12 pick parlays – meaning he had to get all the picks correct in order for the winnings to be collected.

The $25 ticket ended up winning Zerai $597,354.90, while the $50 ticket won him $152,693.50.

"I was watching the games and I was a bit nervous," said Zerai in a Thursday news releasefrom OLG. "When my selected teams won, I was just as excited as the players."

The 34-year-old retail worker says he was emotional when he realized he won.

"My wife was the first person I shared the news with," said Zerai. "She didn't believe it at first. I asked her to guess how much I won, and she guessed $10,000, then $50,000.

"[The winnings] will go to something special. Whatever my wife and I decide, it will be something to get us ahead."

The winning ticket was purchased at Little Short Stop on Krug Street in Kitchener.