It was 6:40 a.m. when Della Griffin and her husband Chesley received a phone call from the cashier at the general store in St. Paul’s River, Quebec, telling them that they had won big. It turns out that Della was among the 14 people who had won Quebec’s Lotto Max $50 million jackpot, and the store that sold the winning ticket was owned by Chesley. A group of people in the tiny fishing village of about 150 residents had bought tickets for nearly two decades as part of a pool. Their win means that about 10% of the town’s residents are now multimillionaires. Della had won $3.5 million and has been giggling ever since. Out of the 14 winners, 13 live in St. Paul’s River, a small town about 40 miles west of the border of Newfoundland and Labrador. As the owner of the store that sold the ticket, Chesley Griffin will receive $500,000. He says he’s now thinking of early retirement, and that the lottery win will give a boost to other businesses in town as well. Local carpenters have been inundated with calls from winners who are looking to do upgrades, as well as those who want to take care of things they haven’t been able to afford to fix in the past. Other winners say they will retire and will help out their adult children who could use a boost as well.
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| Isabell Jean, Vice President of Lotto Quebec, with Chesley and Della Griffin |
