Pharmacist and wife claim largest lottery prize in Newfoundland’s history

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – A pharmacist and his wife from Placentia, N.L., are the winners of a $30-million jackpot billed as the largest in the province’s history.

The win for Gordon and Betty Collins is also the biggest Lotto Max prize ever in Atlantic Canada.

Gordon Collins bought the ticket at the drug store in Placentia where he was working part-time, the day of the Jan. 25 draw.

The 69-year-old Collins says he checked it on Jan. 31 during another shift, realized it was the big winner and went back to filling prescriptions.

Collins says he has no plans to work anymore after he and Betty visit family in Ontario and take a trip somewhere warm.

He says they will use their windfall to make many people happy, including their two grown sons.

Placentia Mayor Bill Hogan says the couple is well-known in the community as respected volunteers who are always ready to lend a hand.