St. Thomas’ Gerry and Helen Phillips are the $26 million jackpot winners of the August 6, 2019 LOTTO Max draw. The couple claimed their winnings in Toronto on Thursday (August 22). Gerry realized that he had an unchecked ticket in his pocket while at a breakfast with his grandchildren. When Gerry saw all of his numbers on the ticket checker, he thought that they had won $260,000 and not $26 million.
Gerry woke up Helen who had just finished an overnight nursing shift to show her the “Congratulations $26 million winner” flashing message on their tablet.
After realizing they won, the two wanted to keep the winning low key until it was official and they knew exactly what the next steps would be.
Gerry is a retired electronic technician and Helen has been a nurse for 46 years. While the couple are still planning to take the next 3-6 months to meet with advisors on how to manage the winnings, Helen is planning on retiring. They also plan on sharing the good fortune with their 3 children and 7 grandchildren.
They also say that they will definitely be going on a bucket-list vacation, possibly to the west coast and a cruise.
The winning ticket was purchased at Shoppers Drug Mart on First Ave and Elm Street in St. Thomas. The two are the first to win one of the new LOTTO MAX Tuesday draws.
