'We won it all!': Quebec family wins $50-million jackpot

Christmas will be a little bit brighter for one Quebec family this year after winning a $50-million jackpot.

Nancy Gauthier, her mother, Jeannette Boisvert, and her partner, Gilles Larouche from the Laurentians won the Lotto Max prize in the Dec. 15 draw just before the holidays.

The winners were announced at a press conference in Montreal on Thursday and presented with a cheque from Loto-Quebec.

Gauthier said she checked each number one-by-one and couldn't believe it when she won. She said she started shaking. "Is this really your ticket?" she recalled thinking.

Larouche was sleeping at the time, and said he had heard screams from the kitchen: "We won it all!"

Gauthier and her mother both worked together and wasted no time to tell their boss that they quit the day of the draw. For about a week, Gauthier said she kept the ticket close to her side so she wouldn't lose it. 

She came to claim her prize on Thursday in style by booking a limousine with Boisvert and Larouche. 

She said she always wanted her own house and said she never thought Loto-Quebec would help her reach her "dream" of being able to buy one. Meanwhile, Larouche said he's planning to buy a new car and a new farmhouse in the Laurentians.

The lucky family purchased the winning ticket at a Couche-Tard in Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, a city about 40 kilometres northwest of Montreal. The convenience store will get a $500,000 cut of the winnings.

Quebecers have been extra lucky in recent months. Over the Thanksgiving weekend, Montreal resident Pierre Richer won a $50,000,000 jackpot with Lotto Max. Then, on Halloween night, two residents in the Eastern Townships won a $55,000,000 jackpot.

"What a holiday gift! We’re so proud to be helping the people of Québec in this way and give them the means to make their dreams come true," said Jean-François Bergeron, President and CEO of Loto-Québec, in a news release.

"It’s a lucky end to the year for Quebecers: this is the third Lotto Max jackpot to be won in Québec in under three months!" said executive vice-president and COO Isabelle Jean.