Montreal factory workers win $1M Lotto 6/49 prize

A group of 14 colleagues from a Montreal factory were the grand winners of a $1 million prize in the March 5 Lotto 6/49 draw. (Loto-Quebec)

A group of 14 colleagues from a Montreal factory were the grand winners of a $1 million prize in the March 5 Lotto 6/49 draw.

“I stood up in the control room with both arms in the air,” said one of the winners, Louis Bourdeau. “It was euphoric, everyone was happy. It was exceptional, really.”

Mario Maltais, who created the group 10 years ago, says he was with coworkers Bourdeau and Jean-Denis Claveau when he checked the ticket.

Initially, they thought they’d won $1,000.

“But in the end, there were too many zeros,” Maltais laughed.

He says news travelled quickly around the workplace and that’s when “the party started.”

According to Loto-Quebec, the winners, who each pocketed $71,432, hail from the Lanaudière, Laurentides, Montreal and Montérégie regions.

The winners say they plan to do a mix of renovations, travelling and spoiling their loved ones – including paying for an upcoming wedding for Yannick Cambrini, who was shopping for an engagement ring when he heard the good news.

The winning ticket was purchased at the Faubourg Boisbriand IGA Extra grocery store in Boisbriand, north of Montreal.

The retailer receives a one per cent commission of $10,000.