From Last-Minute Jackpot Claims to Multiple Wins: Unbelievable Lottery Stories

Talk about cutting it close! A $40 million Lotto Max prize was claimed just hours before the ticket expired, nearly a year after the original drawing.

The winning ticket was sold somewhere in Grey County, Ontario, for the October 28, 2025, drawing. The ticket was finally validated on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, bringing the dramatic wait to an end.

Tony Bitonti, communications director for the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG), said the lottery world has seen plenty of incredible stories over the years. One that stands out involved a $70 million Lotto Max ticket sold in Scarborough in 2023 that went unclaimed for a time. He also remembered the heartwarming case of a woman who won $50 million after losing her ticket.

OLG said more details about this latest multimillion-dollar winner would be shared soon.

But this isn't the only lottery story that has left people stunned. From first-time winners to repeat jackpot successes, here are some unforgettable examples.

1. A Teenager Wins $48 Million on Her First Ticket

Juliette Lamour made lottery history at just 18 years old when she won $48 million with the first lottery ticket she had ever purchased.

The Garden River First Nation resident had only recently become old enough to play when her grandfather suggested buying a ticket for fun.

According to Bitonti, Lamour even called her father from the store to ask whether she should purchase one.

After buying the ticket, she eventually forgot about it. That changed when news broke that a winning Lotto 6/49 ticket worth $48 million had been sold in the Sault Ste. Marie area.

Despite her life-changing win, Lamour had plans beyond spending her newfound fortune. She wanted to finish school, travel, and eventually return to her community as a doctor.

"I really want to come back to this area as a doctor so I can give back to my community," she said at the time.

2. One Woman Wins the Lottery Twice in a Single Day

A 70-year-old woman in Delaware experienced an unbelievable stroke of luck in November 2022.

After collecting a $100,000 lottery prize, she and a friend stopped to celebrate. The woman purchased three Serious Money scratch-off tickets as a little treat for herself.

Then came another surprise: one of those tickets won her an additional $300,000!

"When I scratched the $300,000 winning 'Serious Money' ticket later in the day, we just sat there in disbelief," she recalled. "It was absolute insanity."

The pair quickly headed to lottery headquarters to claim the second prize.

The odds of winning on the Serious Money ticket were reportedly 1 in 150,000, making her back-to-back wins even more remarkable.

3. A Retiree Scores Four Major Lottery Wins

Jeffrey Gurczenski of Mississauga, Ontario, knows what it's like to get lucky more than once.

In August 2022, he won $92,131.50 playing Poker Lotto All-In. He also won $5,000 from the instant portion of his scratch ticket, bringing that day's total to $97,131.50.

It wasn't his first success. Gurczenski had previously won $10,000 twice with Wheel of Fortune lottery tickets.

But his winning streak continued. Just four months later, he landed his biggest prize yet: $150,000 from The Bigger Spin instant game.

"When it landed on $150,000 my heart was racing!" he said while collecting his prize at the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto. "I was so happy."

4. A Chinese Jackpot Winner Hides His Identity in a Costume

Some winners prefer to keep their identities private, but one man in China took secrecy to another level.

In October 2022, the winner of a 220-million-yuan lottery jackpot, worth approximately $41 million at the time, collected his prize dressed as a yellow cartoon character.

He also used the pseudonym Li to protect his identity.

His reason for staying anonymous was particularly interesting. He explained that he hadn't told his wife or child about the win because he worried the money might change their attitudes toward work and education.

"I am concerned that they might feel superior to other people and will not work or study hard in future," he said, according to the South China Morning Post.

His unusual approach shows just how far some winners will go to keep a massive financial windfall under wraps.

5. A $167.3 Million Jackpot Doesn't Keep One Winner Out of Trouble

Winning a huge lottery jackpot doesn't always mean life takes a positive turn.

James Farthing of Kentucky won a $167.3 million Powerball jackpot in April 2025, reportedly setting a state record for the largest lottery prize.

However, his legal troubles continued even after his multimillion-dollar win.

Before winning the jackpot, the 51-year-old had spent approximately 30 years in prison for various offenses. Following his win, he was reportedly arrested five more times, with his most recent arrest at the time of the report involving public alcohol intoxication.

His story serves as a reminder that while lottery winnings can transform someone's finances overnight, they don't automatically change a person's behavior or circumstances.

Lottery Winners Never Stop Surprising Us

From a last-minute $40 million ticket claim to a teenager's first-ticket jackpot, these stories show just how unpredictable the lottery world can be.

Some winners walk away with life-changing money, others experience multiple strokes of luck, and a few find themselves making headlines for very different reasons.

One thing is certain: every lottery win comes with a story, and some are far more surprising than the jackpot itself.