One-time refugee and a Calgarian wins the biggest lottery in Alberta

Recently after he won a massive $ 65 million lottery, the largest windfall in the history of Alberta, Tai Trinh hardly broke a smile while telling everyone about his feat. The 63 year old resident of Calgary, Alberta, Canada did briefly veer the conversation away to talk about how he arrived in Canada in the year 1980 after being forced out of his native land Vietnam that was in a war-torn state back then.

Talking to the press, Trinh said that they left immediately after the war and would often be referred to as the boat people. When questioned about his plans and what he intends to do with his massive windfall, which has tied with the biggest ever lottery win in all of Canada, he didn’t have much to say. In a very humble tone, he said that he leads a normal life with his family and doesn’t have any big plans immediately. The only time he sported slight smile on his face was when he hoisted the ceremonial cheque for all the camera person’s present at the event. The other biggest lottery win was also of $ 65 million (Lotto Max); it had come from a ticket purchased last June in Quebec. Nowadays, there are multiple options available to Canadians if they want to try their luck at lottery. USA’s Mega Millions lottery is available in Canada as well. It has delivered hundreds of millions of dollars to the lucky winners so far.

As it happened

The fateful day when he purchased the winning lottery ticket started like any normal day for Trinh. He stopped by at the Shell Store situated at 1000 338 Country Hills Blvd, NE to grab a cup of coffee as well as a Lotto 6/49 or a Lotto Max ticket. A few days later while carrying out a self-check on the randomly chosen numbers – 20, 31, 35, 36, 39, 42 and 44 on the $ 6 Lotto Max ticket, he discovered that he had actually struck the massive jackpot. In utter disbelief, he checked and verified it again and again. Thereafter, he didn’t tell anyone about the big win.

Furthermore, he didn’t give a lot of bytes to the reporters who continued pumping him for more details. The only facts he revealed were that he doesn’t work and that his wife had died 3 years ago. He spoke about his children too but didn’t tell how many he had.

Quite intent on maintaining his and his family’s privacy, when asked about his children, he simply said, “That I know myself.”

Joins the elite list of 28 big winners

Trinh joined the list of 28 other big Lotto Max winners from Calgary who have collectively won $ 172 million. At the Alberta level, there have been 125 winners who have claimed $ 822 million so far. There is a $ 50 million lottery won from the August 30 draw, due on a ticket that was purchased in Calgary. As revealed by AGLC (Alberta Gaming Liquor and Cannabis), this win hasn’t been claimed yet. Furthermore, it’s worth noting that 5 of the biggest lottery prizes ever won in the province of Alberta have all ended in such small communities.