A Tavistock couple ran errands and went to-and-from work for a week before finding out the lotto ticket left sitting in their vehicle cupholder was worth a whopping $50 million.
Chad and Christa Breyer were announced Friday as the winners of the March 16 Lotto Max jackpot.
The ticket was purchased the Sunday before the draw at a gas bar in Stratford.
"I put it in the cupholder of my car as I usually do, and went about my business – going to work or running errands – never locking my car,” said Chad, an automotive repair and restoration worker. “I even went out and bought a Lotto 6/49 ticket for Saturday’s draw with the winning Lotto Max ticket still in my car."
Finally after repeatedly asking her husband to bring the ticket into the house so she could check it, Chad handed the paper over to Christa seven days later. A quick scan on the OLG app changed their lives as "$50,000,000" appeared on the screen.
From there Chad took the ticket to a nearby convenience store where it was re-scanned and confirmed as the sole winning ticket for the $50 million draw.
"I was so excited I grabbed the ticket and the receipt and ran out of the store and went back home,” said the 41-year-old father of two. “I didn’t know I had to stay to talk to the OLG representative who called the store a few moments later.”
The couple shared the good news with their family by texting a picture to their parents. Chad's dad responded that it "couldn’t have happened to a better man."
The Breyers have continued working since learning of their windfall, stating they couldn't let their co-workers down by not showing up to the job.
"I have a few projects that I need to finish first before I think of possibly retiring – I can’t leave my boss and colleagues without completing my obligations first,” said Chad.
In addition to helping out charities that are close to their heart, the couple plans on using the money to buy a new home, new vehicles, and travel once it is safe to do so.
“I want to return to California. We went there for our honeymoon many years ago and have been saving airline loyalty points in the hopes of going back but now we can travel there in style," said Christa.
