Filipino migrant wins $80 million Lotto Max jackpot in Canada

Justin Simporios receives the symbolic check for CA$80 million after winning the Lotto Max national lottery in Canada. Photo from BCLC website

VANCOUVER – A 35-year-old Filipino migrant in Canada won the CA$80 million (P3.19 billion) Lotto Max jackpot, the biggest lottery prize in British Columbia – and the largest jackpot ever won by an individual in Canada, according to the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC).

“I’m an immigrant. I came from a poor country…With this amount of money, I will be able to spend more time with my daughter, with my wife, with my family…,” a tearful Justin Simporios said in a BCLC media conference, where he was handed a symbolic check for the jackpot prize.

“Of course this is so much money for us. I really want to give back to the community as much as I could,” said Simporios, a resident of Surrey City. Surrey is about 38 kilometres southeast of the western Canadian city of Vancouver in British Columbia (BC).

Simporios said he and his family are already eyeing charitable organizations to donate part of their winnings.

“I have been living for four years in Surrey, I could really see the struggle…,” he said.

Surrey, the largest city in BC and the second most populous next to Vancouver, is home to one of the biggest communities of Filipino Canadians, numbering 39,285 out of the total population of 568,322 (2021 census).

Simporios was the sole winner of the jackpot prize for the May 9, 2025 draw. Lotto Max is a nationwide lottery game drawn on Tuesdays and Fridays. His winning numbers were: 06-10-16-17-30-38-48.

Lottery prizes are generally non-taxable, according to the BCLC website.

Simporios said winning the jackpot prize will allow him to spend more time with his family.

“I’ve been struggling…I’m a father. I work full time. I have a daughter (and) I want to go home. I want to spend time with them but you know, as I father you want to balance it out, right? Should I work, should I spend time with my daughter and not have food, like all those kind(s) of stuff,” he said during the awarding ceremony.

Simporios said his wife got upset when he woke her up to tell her that he won the top prize.

“She was in complete disbelief and a bit mad at me because our daughter wasn’t feeling well,” Simporios was quoted in a BCLC press release.

Simporios said he submitted his resignation letter to his employer, a logistics company, a few hours before the news conference, according to CTVNews.

Aside from helping his family, he also plans to pay off his sister’s medical school debt.

Simporios also wants to see his idol, basketball star LeBron James, in person and watch a Los Angeles Lakers game.  He also wants to bring his wife and daughter to the Philippines for a vacation.

“My wife and kid have never visited!” Simporios was quoted in the press release.

He said the biggest change in his life will be having more time with his family.

“We want to live with a purpose – to help the community around us,” he added.