Group of 26 lottery winners from Mississauga, Hamilton, Burlington and beyond wait months to get $1M prize

A group of 26 people from Mississauga, Brampton, Hamilton, Burlington, Oakville, Milton and beyond has to wait some six months to pick up a $1 million lottery prize.

The group won $1 million in the May 31 Lotto Max draw, but members won’t be able to pick up the winnings until Nov. 27, according to a press release from Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG).

One of the group members, John Happy, of Oakville, has a daughter who worked for an authorized OLG retailer at the time of the ticket purchase.

Therefore, the claim falls within OLG’s definition of an insider win. Claims of $10,000 or more made by insiders require enhanced review and validation as well as a 30-day publication period before payment to ensure there are no additional claims on the winning ticket.

The prize will be paid to the claimants on Nov. 27 if there are no additional claims before then.

“It is OLG’s goal to ensure that the right prize is paid to the right person(s) every time,” the OLG states.

The ticket was purchased at Husky, on King St. in Stoney Creek.

Assuming they divide the winnings equally, each group member would get just over $38,000.

Here are the 26 winners:

• Ernesto Diaz Herryman of Hamilton
• Christopher Cote of Mississauga
• David Fox of Ancaster
• Deepakkumar Prajapati of Mississauga
• Fitzwilliam Ramsook of Milton
• Gary Randall of Oakville
• Gary St. Onge of Oakville
• Gregory Hunter of Mississauga
• Gregory May of Hamilton
• Hanif Remani of Hamilton
• Hiran Patel of Brampton
• Jacob Sherrit of Brantford
• James Madley Ancaster
• John Happy of Oakville
• John Taylor of Coldwater
• John-Paul McGrath of Hamilton
• Kevin Soy of North York
• Matthew Konstantinou of Mount Hope
• Nileshkumar Babaria of Mississauga
• Richard Groulx of Burlington
• Sana Rouhani of Brechin
• Selwyn Ramjohn of Mississauga
• Shayne Coutto of Hamilton
• Stephen Yonev of Stoney Creek
• Svyatoslav Shchupak of Binbrook
• Timothy Taylor of Hamilton

For more information, visit Claiming Prizes for Insiders on OLG.ca.