Toronto woman wins $50M in Lotto Max; first thought she won $50,000

TORONTO – It was a Mother’s Day to remember for a Toronto woman who picked up her $50-million cheque Tuesday afternoon.

Sophie Rizavas is Ontario’s latest multimillionaire following her jackpot win in the May 9 Lotto Max draw.

She also won $5 for matching the first two numbers of her Encore play and Rizavas and her husband, Tom, announced the win to the family at dinner on Mother’s Day.

The 63-year-old mother of two and grandmother went to a local retailer to check her ticket last Saturday evening and says she “saw a number of zeros” and thought she’d won $50,000.

And Rizavas says she couldn’t believe it when a printed receipt came out of the machine at the counter with $50,000,000 in bold letters.

As for her plans for the money, Rizavas says a family trip is the first thing on their list.

“We’ve never had a proper family vacation,” Rizavas said. “We’ve tried over the years but someone’s always had to stay home to work.”

“It’s quite a coincidence,” she said. “My husband and I came to Canada from Greece on May 10, 1970, and 44 years later, May 10, 2014, we find out that we are multimillionaires.”