The humble abode of Merel Chiasson, a resident of Bas-Caraquet, New Brunswick, sheltered a multimillion-dollar secret for almost a year. A winning lottery ticket, long forgotten and strewn away amidst a pool of other tickets in his dresser, held the key to a life-altering $64 million jackpot prize.
The golden goose was brought home on the night of Thursday, a mere 19 days before the ticket stood a risk of being expired. The Atlantic Lottery in a news release confirmed the mammoth win, which was a far cry from what Chiasson expected when he originally bought his ticket for the Lotto 6/49.
In the comfort of his home, Chiasson maintained a treasured collection of lottery tickets, naively dismissing any chances of hitting the big time. His casual approach gave birth to the irony, as he explained in a release, “I’ve always done it like that and I never thought I would win big, so I leave the tickets there and didn’t worry too much about it.”
The community around Gloucester County was abuzz as Atlantic Lottery filmed a commercial featuring a golden town crier imploring people to check their tickets. Atlantic Lottery’s Molly Cormier, director of brand and communications, emphasized their vigorous effort to remind the public to look at their tickets, delighted that their endeavour had such a thrilling end.
In the event that Chiasson had overlooked his winning ticket, the gigantic sum would have slipped back into the Atlantic Lottery’s prize pool. An overarching sense of amazement washed over the Atlantic Lottery players gathered at the CF Champlain mall kiosk. Fellow lottery investing hopefuls such as Rene Legere and Rob Anston articulated their shock and envy at Chiasson’s extraordinary luck.
“I think he’s probably lucky twice in his life,” Anston pointed out, his thought also extending towards the amount of interest Chiasson lost over the year. Murielle Gagne-Ouellette, on the other hand, contemplated how she would prioritize her family and philanthropy if she had won the $64 million.
Chaisson, a crab fisherman by trade for 40 years, announced his intent to retire fully, allowing the winnings to support his family. Despite his instant fortune, he remains committed to his true self, underscoring this by saying, “I don’t want anything big. It’s not going to change me, I’m still the same person.”