Niagara Falls trucker jetting off to Italy after $100,000 lottery win

A Niagara Falls truck driver is going to see what real pizza tastes like soon enough as he’s planning a trip to Italy after a $100,000 lottery win.

Luigi (Lou) Casagrande, 56, matched the last six of seven ENCORE numbers in exact order in the May 30 LOTTO MAX draw to collect the big prize.

Casagrande was at the grocery store when he decided to check his ticket. “There were so many zeroes, I didn’t know what was going on,” he recounted, while at the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto to pick up his windfall.

“The cashier told me I won, and I called my wife right away – she didn’t believe me,” he laughed. “For a while, I couldn’t eat or sleep. I was in shock!”

With his win, Casagrande plans to save for retirement but added, “I’ll continue working for the time being. I like having a daily routine.”

However, he’s not ruling out some travel in the very near future to celebrate. “I want to visit Italy – specifically Venice and Naples. Maybe I’ll travel to Switzerland and France too!”

He added the win couldn’t come at a better time. “We’ve had bad luck for some time, but we can breathe easier now. It’s an awesome feeling,” he concluded.

The winning ticket was purchased at Orchard Grove Pharmacy on Lundy’s Lane in Niagara Falls.