Health-care worker wins $20-million Lotto Max jackpot

Anna Pelka, a Stoney Creek healthcare worker won a $20 million Lotto Max jackpot from Dec. 20. (OLG)

A health-care worker from Stoney Creek, Ont. has won the $20-million Lotto Max jackpot from Dec. 20, 2024, the OLG announced on Wednesday.

The Crown agency’s report says Anna Pelka has been playing the lottery with OLG for the last seven years.

Pelka bought herself a Lotto Max Quick Pick ticket when she stopped for gas on her way home from work at Petro-Canada on Mud Street West.

On her way out, she decided to check her ticket on the ticket checker. That’s when she got the message telling her to see the retailer.

“Shaking like a leaf, feeling hot and suddenly thirsty, I brought my ticket to the store clerk,” Pelka said.

“From that moment on, everything became a bit of a blur. The clerk was so kind and brought me a bottle of water. It was a surreal and crazy moment.”

Pelka says her husband didn’t believe her at first when she told him how much she had won.

They were overjoyed to know that their children’s future and their education will now be taken care of, the release says.

Since 2009, Lotto Max players from Ontario have won over $9 billion in 113 jackpot wins and 937 Maxmillions prizes, the Crown agency’s report says.