89-year-old St. Catharines man’s daughters “in disbelief” over his lotto win

A St. Catharines man is happy he said “yes” to Encore.

OLG recently announced that Ian Blakely, 89, matched the last six of seven Encore numbers in the exact order in the July 18, 2023 Lotto Max draw to win $100,000.

Blakely, a father of two, said he’s been playing the lottery for over 30 years and always spends the extra dollar on Encore.

This is his largest win to date.

OLG says Blakely, who is retired, was at the store when he discovered he won.

“I asked the cashier to validate my ticket and the machine read ‘Big Winner,’” he told OLG. “I was very surprised and excited to find out that my Encore addition had paid off!”

Blakely asked his daughters to come over so he could reveal the good news.

“They were in disbelief until they saw the ticket. They said it was like a birthday present for me,” he told OLG.

Blakely told OLG he hasn’t made any major plans for his win just yet.

“I’m considering investing.”

The winning ticket was purchased at Avondale on Linwell Road in St. Catharines.