When Gregorio De Santis (center) was about to donate his old clothes to charity recently, he never thought that a simple suggestion would make him a millionaire.

His sister told the Montreal man to check through the pockets first. And when he did, in the lining of a suit was a Lotto 649 ticket from last December for a $7 million jackpot.

When Gregario checked his ticket at the store, he thought the prize was only $1,750. To his surprise the prize was actually $1.75 million since there were four winners who shared the jackpot.

The Sherbrooke St. W. dépanneur (photo) owner who sold him the ticket will get $17,500, equivalent to one per cent of the winnings.

When he realized his win was 1,000 times greater than that, he said his heart almost stopped.

De Santis picked up his cheque at the headquarters of Loto-Québec last Friday, 10 months after the drawing.

Gregario talks about his win at the headquarters of Loto-Québec last Friday.

“I would never have looked in that closet without her!” said De Santis, who was still in a state of shock from his trip to Loto-Québec.

Gregario said he is going to figure his retirement plan and take some time to reflect. A hockey fan, he has not ruled out going to a few games with his nephew.