Quebec woman wins $50M Lotto Max jackpot

A retired woman went to the supermarket to buy flowers and came out a multi-millionaire.

Marie-Claude Turcotte, 68, from Sorel-Tracy, Que. went shopping at IGA Saturday afternoon and made her usual stop at the blue Loto-Quebec machine to validate her ticket. She didn't quite believe what she saw next.

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"I saw '$50 million' and I thought it was an advertisement," a cheerful Turcotte told a crowd of journalists at a news conference Monday afternoon.

It wasn't until a woman at the cash register confirmed she was the winner of Friday's $50 million Lotto Max jackpot that the truth started the sink in.

"I felt a little dizzy," Turcotte said. The realization that she had wonwas so disorienting, she left the supermarket empty-handed and had to go back.

She came out again, this time with an extra bouquet of flowers and champagne. It was, after all, the day before Mother's Day.

Turcotte and her husband decided they wouldn't believe she wonuntil Loto-Qubec confirmed. In the meantime, they told their children, "We won, but it may not be true."

"You still don't believe it. You're not sure if you won. You ask yourself if was a mistake," Turcotte said.

Now with the jumbo-sized $50 million cheque in hand, Turcotte said she was still thinking about what to do with the money.

The jackpot is one of the biggest ever given by Loto-Qubec to a single person and it's the fourth time a jackpot of $50 million or more has been won by a Quebecer.

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"I'm going to treat myself, and I'm probably going to treat the people around me," she said, but added with a playful tone that money can only do so much.

"Even when you win $50 million you're not going to start eating six meals a day," she said, causing the crowd to erupt in laughter.

She added, with a touch of sobriety, that her age and health problems would probably limit how much her newfound riches could change her life.

Turcotte said her family was keeping a "cool head" and was well aware of the pitfalls of past winners.

I saw '$50 million' and I thought it was an advertisement,- Marie-Claude Turcotte, $50M Lotto Max winner

"We want to make the right choices, we don't want to hurt anyone, and money can slip through your fingers. We know that in some cases some unfortunate decisions have been made and that's probably what worries us," she said, admitting that she and her husband were losing a bit of sleep over it.

The Sorel-Tracy IGA at which Turcotte bought the ticket also won bigthey get to take away one per cent of the winnings, $500,000.

Turcotte joked that the store's owner "also had trouble sleeping."

The 68-year-old said although she has some wild dreams, such as "to go to the moon," she won't be making any rash decisions.

"I think you have to be realistic."