
Bas-Caraquet, nestled in the heart of Atlantic Canada’s Acadian Peninsula, is a sleepy fishing village known for its picturesque landscapes and strong cultural heritage. It is also home to Merel Chiasson, a salt-of-the-earth crab fisherman who, unbeknownst to him, was sitting on a goldmine. Chiasson, recently attended the Atlantic Lottery Office in Moncton and claimed a mindboggling $64-million jackpot, the largest lottery win ever verified in Atlantic Canada.
The gritty crab fisherman gripped his winning ticket mere weeks before its expiration, 347 days after purchase. Undiscovered for nearly a year, the piece of paper that would change Chiasson’s life lounged in his bedroom dresser, patiently awaiting his discovery. It was part of his customary routine to check an entire month’s worth of tickets at once, just before the forfeiture deadline.
Friendly speculation swirled around the possession of the mystery winning ticket. Whispers flitted through the streets of Bas-Caraquet that perhaps a team at Walmart snagged the prize, or even that a wayward hunter had dropped it somewhere in the woods, only for it to be lost forever to the elements.
In reality, Chiasson got wind of his gigantic fortune in a quintessentially low-key fashion. He sauntered into the local store for his customary ticket check, innocently unaware that his life was on the brink of taking a dramatic turn. Upon surveying the printout, he was struck dumb by the extraordinary amount reflected there. Still in a trance, Chiasson murmured it to his partner Nancy, “I think I won 64 million. I’m not sure.”
Nancy and Chiasson voyaged to the Atlantic Lottery in Moncton to validate the win and collect the gargantuan sum. He was eagerly introduced to the world as the benefactor at a news conference in the bustling organization’s headquarters. As confetti rained from the ceiling, lottery officials beamed, presenting Chiasson with an oversized cheque symbolizing his enormous windfall.
The lucky lottery ticket was purchased at Dépanneur Pokemouche, a small convenience store in northeastern New Brunswick, which will receive a generous 1% of the jackpot, an astonishing $640,000.
Chiasson, a dedicated lottery player for three decades and a crabber for four, revealed that he plans to retire after spending a few years at a local fish plant. His newfound wealth will largely go towards assisting his family. Although he refrained from expressing any grand plans for his winnings, he emphasized that his unexpected windfall won’t alter who he is.
“I don’t want anything big,” he asserted. “It’s not going to change me, I’m still the same person.” And so, the humble crab fisherman of Bas-Caraquet remains grounded, despite a sudden influx of $64 million.