$55M win means new Jeep, paid-off house for some in Quebec lotto group

Forty-nine people from various regions in Quebec won a $55 million jackpot in the August Lotto Max draw, Loto-Québec announced on Monday. This marks the first time a large group has triumphed in a million-dollar jackpot in a single lottery win, according to Loto-Québec. Each winner is receiving $1.1 million.

Guy Poirier, one of three winners from the Outaouais, gathered with 46 others at Loto-Québec's head office in Montreal on Tuesday. Poirier, 72, bought at least one share in a winning Formule groupe ticket and did not find the prospect of playing with multiple strangers strange. He plans to quit his two part-time jobs and buy a Jeep in cash, something he had previously planned to purchase with credit.

Naeim Nouzad, 43, from Dorval, will receive his $1.1 million early birthday gift. He plans to use the money to pay off his house and help his two sisters. Nouzad said he won the jackpot by mistake; he was expecting to win only $22,000.

The winners hail from various regions in Quebec, with 15 from Monteregie, 17 from Montreal, two each from Laurentides and Capitale-Nationale, five from Lanaudiere, three from Outaouais, one each from Abitibi-Temiscamingue, Laval, Cote-Nord, Estrie, Mauricie and Nord-du-Quebec. Isabelle Jean, executive vice-president and COO of Lottery Games at Loto-Québec, expressed that it's incredible that 49 families in Quebec will enjoy part of this jackpot.