‘Dad, I think you won $40 million’: Retired Oshawa man details cheeky OLG Lotto Max win

A 79-year-old man from Oshawa, Ont. who won $40 million through the OLG Lotto Max draw, says he initially thought he had secured a $40,000 prize before falling back asleep in the nude.

Bernard White, a retired railway employee, explained to the OLG that he’d purchased two Lotto Max weekly tickets for years: one for his daughter and one for himself.

“Before I go to bed, I always tell her to pick one. This time, she picked the wrong one,” White said.

The Oshawa, Ont. man further explained that his daughter woke him up from a deep sleep with exciting news the morning after the Feb. 21, 2025, draw.

“She said, ‘Dad, I think you won $40,000 on your Lotto Max ticket. I looked at her, half asleep, and replied, ‘That’s great! Now we can now both pay off our cars,'” White recounted.

“Five or ten minutes later, there was another knock on the door, and my daughter said, ‘Um…Dad, I think you won $40 million.’ Now I really wanted to jump out of bed, but I couldn’t because I sleep in the nude. I would’ve hit the ceiling if I’d had underwear on.”

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Despite the excitement, White’s daughter went to work but found it hard to concentrate, knowing her father was celebrating at home. Unable to shake the excitement, she decided to leave early.

“When my daughter got home, we headed straight to the store where I had bought the ticket. We checked it at the lottery terminal, and it lit up like a Christmas tree,” White recalled.

White said he was then eager to share the news with his long-time partner, but in the only way he knew how.

“I told her I’d won $40,000—I couldn’t get that thought out of my mind. But she didn’t believe me since I’m always playing pranks on her,” the Oshawa, Ont. man explained. “Then I told her the truth—I had won $40 million—and even showed her the ticket, but she still wasn’t convinced. Honestly, I could barely say the words, ‘I won $40 million.’ It just felt so surreal.”

An avid fisherman, White says he has some early plans with the new winnings, including a fishing rod and a set of $3,000 speakers. His family, including his siblings, also comes first.

“My daughter means a lot to me because, when my late wife and I had her, she was the only child we could have. She’s going to be well taken care of,” he said. “I’ve dreamt about winning big money and sharing it with my family. It’s going to be a wonderful feeling to help them. I’ll be the favourite uncle for sure.”

Along with travelling—possibly taking a cruise around Newfoundland, where he was born—he plans to support key health organizations.

“There are several causes that are very close to my heart, and I will be making substantial donations.”

White purchased his winning Lotto Max ticket at Shell gas station on Taunton Road East in Oshawa, Ont.