'It's a lot to digest': Calgary man wins $66M on Lotto 6-49 draw

A Calgary man is $66 million richer after claiming a Lotto 6-49 jackpot.

James Jutzi won the top prize on the June 15 Lotto 6-49 draw – taking home a record-breaking Gold Ball Jackpot.

“It’s a lot to digest, but I know I deserve a vacation, and I’m so excited,” Jutzi said in a news release.

He initially won $2 on a Lotto Max ticket from a separate draw and decided to put it back down for another ticket.

He purchased the winning ticket from the 7-Eleven at 3550 32 Ave. N.E. in Calgary. He won the prize with the selection 25057749-01 – a gold ball.

His first call after winning was to his boss.

“I’ve been working as a handyman since I was a kid. When I found out I’d won I said, ‘That’s it! No more work,’” he said.

Jutzi said he has already bought his mom a new Cadillac Escalade, and he may have an eye on a Cadillac truck for himself. He also has his sights set on buying some property.

The Western Canada Lottery Corporation said the $66 million jackpot is the biggest-ever Lotto 6-49 winner throughout the prairie region and the north.

“I have to say, having done a few of these because we’ve had a few Albertan winners over the last year or so, it makes it even more real,” Dan Keene, the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission gaming vice-president, said.

“It gives you a real sense of Albertans are winning, and they can win.”

The Gold Ball jackpot can grow to a maximum of $68 million, but it’s only been won at that level once – a ticket sold in Ontario in September 2023.

With files from Timm Bruch