Nova Scotia man and lotto guru wins $1M prize, says ‘he’s going to be rich’

A Cape Breton man is $1 million richer after buying a winning Lotto Max ticket last month.

Cory Callaghan of Glace Bay, N.S. started picking up tickets when he turned 19 after watching his dad play the game.

“I buy tickets all the time, but never thought about winning,” he said.

But that changed on May 28th when he checked the numbers on his ticket and realized he had won a $1-million Maxmillions prize. Maxmillions are additional $1-million prizes drawn when the Lotto Max jackpot reaches $50 million.

Callaghan’s first thought was “I’m going to be rich.”

“It was pretty shocking,” he said. “I just sat there for a while and I think I put it through the machine a couple of times just to make sure.”

The first person he told was his dad, waking him up at 6:30 a.m. to share the news. Although his parents are emotional, the fact that he’s now a millionaire has yet to sink in.

“As of right now, it’s still the exact same. Once you actually see it for yourself, I think that’s when it will come,” he said.

The 35-year-old’s biggest plan for his winnings is to buy a new car.

“That’ll be the first thing that I get,” he said. “I think I’m going to go look around and see what catches my eye.”

Callaghan has no plans to stop buying lotto tickets either. In fact, he’s already bought a few since his big win.

His lucky ticket was purchased at Jack’s Place in Glace Bay, N.S.