Bernard White of Oshawa has a hilarious tale about how he discovered he’d won the $40 million Lotto Max jackpot from the February 21, 2025 draw.
Bernard, a retired railway employee, is still trying to come to terms with the fact that he is Ontario’s newest multi-millionaire after collecting his $40 million Lotto Max cheque during a recent OLG Winner Celebration.
When you first meet Bernard, he appears to be shy and reserved, but as you get to know him, you quickly realize he’s witty with a dry sense of humour.
As he recounted the story of how he learned he’d hit the Lotto Max jackpot, he had everyone in stitches.
“For a couple of years, I’ve been buying two Lotto Max tickets a week—one for me and one for my daughter. Before I go to bed, I always tell her to pick one. This time, she picked the wrong one,” Bernard said with a smirk.
“My daughter wakes up very early for work, and the morning after the draw, she knocked on my bedroom door, waking me a from a deep sleep. She said, ‘Dad, I think you won $40,000 on your Lotto Max ticket. I looked at her, half asleep, and replied, ‘That’s great! Now we can now both pay off our cars.”
Bernard laid his head back on his pillow but was too excited to fall back asleep.
“Five or 10 minutes later, there was another knock on the door and my daughter said, ‘Um…Dad, I think you won $40 million!’ Now I really wanted to jump out of bed, but I couldn’t because I sleep in the nude. I would’ve hit the ceiling if I’d had underwear on!” Bernard laughed with a cheeky smile.
Despite all the excitement, Bernard’s daughter went to work, but she struggled to focus and knew her dad was thrilled at home, so she decided to leave early.
“When my daughter came home, we both went to the store where I’d bought the ticket. We checked it at the lottery terminal, and it lit up like a Christmas tree.”
Still overwhelmed by the news, Bernard hopped in his car.
“I knew that would calm me down–a nice, long drive.”
He wanted to go share the news with his long-time partner.
“I told her I’d won $40,000 –I couldn’t get that thought out of my mind. She didn’t believe me because I pull pranks on her all the time. I then told her I’d won $40 million and even showed her the ticket, but it didn’t convince her right away. In fact, I was having a difficult time even saying, ‘I won $40 million.’ It felt so surreal!”
The 79-year-old is an avid fisherman and music lover.
With his winnings, he wants to buy a new fishing rod and a set of $3,000 speakers.
When asked what he wanted to do with the remaining $39,996,800, he already knew the answer.
“My daughter means a lot to me because, when my late wife and I had her, she was the only child we could have. She’s going to be well taken care of.”
Bernard also has a big family with many siblings and wants to help them as well. “I’ve dreamt about winning big money and sharing it with my family. It’s going to be a wonderful feeling to help them. I’ll be the favourite uncle for sure!”
In addition to travelling—possibly including a cruise around Newfoundland, where he was born—he also wants to support some important health organizations. “There are several causes that are very close to my heart, and substantial donations will be made.”
This windfall has Bernard spending a lot of time reflecting on his life. While he has lived a good life so far, he said, “I now plan to live life to the fullest and have fun.”
Bernard purchased his winning Lotto Max ticket at Shell gas station on Taunton Road East in Oshawa.
