Just because Ontario’s latest multi-millionaire can now buy whatever he wants doesn’t mean he’s allowed to.
The recent winner of the Lotto Max $65-million prize draw says his wife will not let him use the winnings to buy a castle, but they do want to travel the world.
“I want to buy a castle, but wife won’t let me,” Mark Hanley told the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation in a news release published Thursday.
The Newmarket, Ont., man was revealed Thursday as the March 28 $65-million Lotto Max winner. He purchased his ticket at New Town Variety on Yonge Street in Newmarket.
“The Lotto Max commercials say, ‘Dream Bigger,’ but I still haven’t quite gotten that in my head,” Hanley said.
“I always dreamt of winning a couple of million, but this amount is just baffling! I just feel so grateful and blessed that this win came my way.”
Hanley was up early, enjoying his breakfast, when he decided to check his Lotto Max ticket after the March draw.
After matching three numbers, he began to pay closer attention to what he was doing, but after seeing all seven numbers line up, he didn’t grasp exactly what that meant.
“I’ve been playing the lottery for 30 years, and when I counted all seven numbers, I was disappointed that I didn’t match the bonus number,” Hanley said.
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“Then I realized there are only seven numbers with Lotto Max, and I got the big one! When I saw there was only one winner and the jackpot was $65 million, I started jumping for joy, saying, ‘Touchdown!’”
When it all clicked in, Hanley said he debated whether to wake up his sleeping wife.
“Is this important enough to wake up my wife, who loves her sleep? So, I decided to share the news by saying, ‘Honey, do you want to kiss a millionaire?’” he said.
“Funny enough, she sternly said, ‘No,’ and tried to go back to sleep.”
Hanley added he then had to convince his wife to get out of bed and meet him downstairs so he could show her his winning ticket.
“She looked at the ticket and thought, ‘So what…?’ So, I told her to go take a shower to fully wake up. When she came back, the reality of this win started to settle in, and she began crying tears of joy,” Hanley said.
The retired business software analyst and his wife wanted to tell their grown children the news face to face.
“We called to make sure they were home, and I said to my wife, ‘Don’t tell them anything – just say we’re coming over.’ When they answered the phone and my wife started to talk, she began crying again.
“She said, ‘we’re coming to see you… I can’t tell you why… but everything’s alright.’”
Hanley started laughing and said, “Oh good, now they think someone died!”
Despite the initial tears from Hanley’s wife, he said their children were overcome with emotion when they were finally told the news.
“I felt so good to tell them, and it’s a dream come true to now be able to provide for them in so many incredible ways,” he said.
When asked what’s on his bucket list, Hanley was quick to answer: “I want to travel the world for its food! I want to go to Italy, and especially France. I love French bread, French wine, and… oh my, French cheese!”
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