MONTREAL -- Loto Quebec is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a new $2 ticket.
"We're offering five jackpots of $125,000, plus five of $50,000, and five of $25,000," explained Loto-Quebec public affairs adviser Brian Lecompte.
Loto-Quebec is also taking a trip down memory lane with a new website about its history.
In 1971, the Crown corporation sent $25 million in revenues to the Quebec Treasury; now it's $1.3 billion per year. Over its 50 years, Loto-Quebec has collected $40 billion for the province.
By its own admission, the corporation said responsible gaming is its biggest concern. It has paid millions of dollars to the Quebec Health Ministry to treat gambling addiction.
Over the past five decades, Loto-Quebec has created instant millionaires, including Jean Roche Tremblay, who recalls the moment he realized he was a winner.
"I was in the house, and I screamed. Everyone came down and said, 'What's going on?' They thought I went nuts," he said.
It's the kind of thrill - or more often the promise of it - that Loto-Quebec has thrived on for 50 years.
"It definitely changes your life when you win $1 million or more," said Lecompte. "We see it that almost on a daily basis."
