Winnipegger loses, finds winning $1M lottery ticket

Mario Raimondi poses with his $1 million cheque in an undated photo. (Supplied: Western Canada Lottery Corporation)

A newly minted millionaire has a Good Samaritan partly to thank for his lottery-fuelled windfall.

Mario Raimondi claimed a $1 million win on the LOTTO 6/49 Gold Ball Draw from a ticket he bought in April at the Red River Co-Op on Regent Avenue West.

Raimondi said he plays every draw and typically checks his numbers online, keeping the tickets in his wallet.

He did the same this time around, but dropped his wallet while he was out.

“I was lucky enough that someone found it and returned it to me,” he said in a news release.

Luckily, the winning ticket was still in his wallet when it was returned.

He plans to buy a new house with his winnings. He also wants to take a page out of the Good Samaritan’s book.

“I’m taking this as a sign to pay it forward and help someone else out,” he said. “My prayers have been answered.”