Happy Birthday dear - here's $22 million! Wife gets Lotto Max lottery surprise
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When Oakville, Ont. resident Garry Myles discovered he had won $22 million, it was a double celebration. The Jan. 18 win was also his wife’s 50th birthday.
"She was wondering why I screamed, so I called her over, showed her the screen and said, ‘Happy Birthday!’ .
“She thought I was giving her one free play because it was on a separate line,” he said.
“It took her a little while to figure out what had happened.”
“In the blink of an eye our lives changed for the better," IT employee Garry Myles said as he received his lottery winnings.
The 56-year-old had been buying Lotto Max tickets for about 20 years.
But he said that he often forgot to buy tickets before the draw, so he used the Ontario Lottery Corporation subscription service two years ago.
Myles received an email from the Ontario Lottery Corporation following the Jan. 18 Lotto Max draw.
It came as part of his lottery subscription so that the Oakville man could get notification emails whenever he won something.
“I thought it said $22 plus one free play. And then I realized, oh, $22,000, that’s fantastic,” he said.
“Then I realized there were more zeros. That’s when I screamed in joy.”
"It was a surreal moment," Myles said. "Everyone dreams about winning the lottery but I’m pretty sure no one expects it. It’s unbelievable to think I am the guy whose dreams will come true."
The lottery winner intends to pay off his mortgage, travel and share some of the money with his family.
"I’d love to start with a relaxing trip to the beach then I will explore Europe and re-discover music in Vienna, spend some time in Prague, and experience a musical Scottish tattoo," he said.
"Thinking about receiving a cheque for $22 million makes me giggle. I don’t know if being a multimillionaire will fully sink in until I’ve done something big, like pay off my mortgage.”
