Winners of Lotto Max jackpot announced in Canada

The winners of half of a Lotto Max jackpot have been revealed in Canada.

Alberta residents Rodney McFadyen and Derek Marsh won $12.5 million from the May 19 Lotto Max draw, the Western Canada Lottery Corporation announced on Wednesday.

The two longtime friends won half of a $25 million jackpot. The other winner was Quebec resident Shawn Batten.

The pair have been playing the lottery together for years.

While at work days after redeeming a free play ticket, McFadyen heard that the Lotto Max jackpot had been won in the previous night’s draw.

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“I was working and saw there were two Lotto Max winners – one in Alberta, one in Quebec. I didn’t think much of it until I scanned our tickets later,” he said.

When he eventually did check the ticket, he was shocked.

“I started scanning the tickets, saw $12,500,000 and just froze,” he said.

“I couldn’t believe it.”

McFadyen then contacted Marsh to tell him the big news, but initially Marsh didn’t believe him.

“He’s messed with me about this before,” Marsh said.

“I looked up the numbers and lost it. My smartwatch calculated 7 km over the next few hours from all my pacing.”

McFadyen said it has “been an emotional rollercoaster” since they discovered the big win.

The two are taking some time to think about their next steps.

“The money is going in the bank for both of us for now,” McFadyen said.

But they were having some fun with one idea.

“We joked about going to Aruba and leaving our wives with a pile of Scratch & Win tickets to keep them busy until we got home,” Marsh said.

Jokes aside, the pair said their families are top of mind and they plan to share their winnings with their wives and children.

Images via WCLC