Man wins huge lottery, then loses wallet with ticket inside in Canada

A man discovered that he won a major lottery prize last month, then subsequently lost his wallet with the ticket inside.

The Western Canada Lottery Corporation detailed Mario Raimondi’s hectic experience in a news release last week.

It said that the Winnipeg resident had checked his ticket, discovering a $1 million win from the April 5 Lotto 6/49 gold ball draw.

READ MORE: Biggest lottery jackpots in a long time could be won this week in Canada

He keeps his tickets in his wallet and while he was out, he dropped the wallet — with the big winner still in there.

But thanks to a Good Samaritan, he did get it back, the release said.

“I was lucky enough that someone found it and returned it to me,” Raimondi said.

“The ticket was still in my wallet when it was returned.”

Handout / WCLC

He said he’s taking the kindness of the Good Samaritan “as a sign to pay it forward and help someone else out.”

“My prayers have been answered,” he said.

But the first thing on his list is a new house, Raimondi said.

Meanwhile, this Wednesday’s Lotto 6/49 draw has the gold ball jackpot at $60 million, or the guaranteed $1 million prize, as well as the classic jackpot at its fixed $5 million.