The winner of what the B.C. Lottery Corp. calls the biggest jackpot ever awarded to a single person in Canada says that winning the $80 million prize is "life-changing."
Justin Simporios from Surrey, B.C., fought back tears of joy at a news conference on Thursday, saying he has already resigned from his job at a logistics company and is thinking about buying a "dream home" in Metro Vancouver as his first purchase.
"I just threw in my resignation through an email, just an hour, two hours before I had this press conference," Simporios said. "I'm working with (a) good operations team, my boss, they're all great."
He said he just wanted to make sure his boss and co-workers knew he wanted to "step away."
"Just giving you guys a heads-up, I'm not coming back," he said, adding they were happy for him.
The B.C. Lottery Corp. said it's the largest jackpot ever won in the province, as well as the largest individual win in Canada.
Simporios, who is married and has a daughter, said he found out he had won the May 9 Lotto Max draw at about 10:30 p.m. that evening, when he heard the prize-winning ticket had been sold in Surrey.
He said he joked with his wife that the family had become millionaires before verifying his ticket.
"She was mad," Simporios said. "She said, 'Can you stop that joke right now because your daughter is sleeping.'"
Simporios then recounted sitting on his bed with a flashlight, tracking the winning numbers while trying to avoid waking his daughter, then realized he had won.
"I shouted. I cried. I turned out the lights. My wife was mad again," he said while laughing.
Simporios said his priority is to give back to the community, pay off his sister's medical school debt and help his mother retire early.
"I've been struggling," he said. "I'm a father. I work full time. I have a daughter. I want to go home. I want to spend time with them, but as a father, you want to balance it out. Should I work? Or should I spend time with my daughter and not have food?
"With this amount of money, I'll be able to spend more time with my daughter, with my wife, with my family. It's awesome, man. Just thank you. I'm just feeling blessed right now."
As for the first item he plans to buy with the money, Simporios did not hesitate.
"We're going to sit down with our financial adviser right away," he said. "But once that meeting is done, it's always a dream home."
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns
