Newest millionaire in Mississauga silently stakes claim to big lottery win

Mississauga’s newest millionaire via the lottery seems to have been left speechless by his big win.

Pannel Chindalo is celebrating after collecting a cool $1 million thanks to a Lotto 6/49 ticket in the Sept. 16 draw that had the winning Encore numbers. His ticket’s numbers matched all seven Encore numbers in exact order.

Chindalo’s celebration is a quiet one, though — at least publicly.

And that’s perfectly fine, according to the OLG, which operates the lotteries and hands out all prizes big and small.

After all, not every winner of a big cash prize in the lottery has something to say.

While the majority of big winners are happy to say a few words publicly about their initial reaction upon learning they’d just won life-changing money, there are those who’d rather just show up at the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto for the mandatory winner’s photo and offer no comment.

Alternatively, if the claim has been processed virtually, OLG officials say, the winner can supply the lottery corporation with their own winning photo.

In those cases, comments from the winners, including thoughts on what they plan to do with their winnings and so forth, may not be provided unless they choose to do so.

Chindalo’s winning ticket was purchased on OLG.ca.

OLG publishes all wins of $1,000 or more on its website for 30 days. For major prizes, OLG requires a photo of the winner. The lottery corporation may also send a news release and photo of major prize winners to media in local communities.