B.C. winner of record $80M lottery jackpot quits job, vows to give back to community

The Canadian Press

· Posted: May 15, 2025 6:54 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 minutes ago

The victor of what the B.C. Lottery Corp. is calling the biggest jackpot ever awarded to a azygous idiosyncratic successful Canada, says that winning the $80 cardinal prize is "life-changing."

Justin Simporios from Surrey, B.C., fought backmost tears of joyousness astatine a quality league connected Thursday, saying helium has already resigned from his occupation astatine a logistics institution and is reasoning astir buying a "dream home" successful Metro Vancouver arsenic his archetypal purchase.

"I conscionable threw successful my resignation done an email, conscionable an hour, 2 hours earlier I had this quality conference," Simporios said. "I'm moving with [a] good operations team, my boss. They're each great."

He said helium conscionable wanted to marque definite his brag and co-workers knew helium wanted to "step away."

"Just giving you guys a heads-up, I'm not coming back," helium said, adding they were blessed for him. 

The B.C. Lottery Corp. said it's the largest jackpot ever won successful the province, arsenic good arsenic the largest idiosyncratic triumph successful Canada.

Simporios, who is joined and has a daughter, said helium recovered retired helium had won the May 9 Lotto Max gully astatine astir 10:30 p.m. that evening, erstwhile helium heard the prize-winning summons had been sold successful Surrey.

He said helium joked with his woman that the household had go millionaires earlier verifying his ticket.

"She was mad," Simporios said. "She said, 'Can you halt that gag close present due to the fact that your girl is sleeping.'"

Simporios past recounted sitting connected his furniture with a flashlight, tracking the winning numbers portion trying to debar waking his daughter, past realized helium had won.

"I shouted. I cried. I turned retired the lights. My woman was huffy again," helium said portion laughing.

Simporios said his precedence is to springiness backmost to the community, wage disconnected his sister's aesculapian schoolhouse indebtedness and assistance his parent discontinue early.

"I've been struggling," helium said. "I'm a father. I enactment afloat time. I person a daughter. I privation to spell home. I privation to walk clip with them, but arsenic a father, you privation to equilibrium it out. Should I work? Or should I walk clip with my girl and not person food?

"With this magnitude of money, I'll beryllium capable to walk much clip with my daughter, with my wife, with my family. It's awesome, man. Just convey you. I'm conscionable feeling blessed close now."

As for the archetypal point helium plans to bargain with the money, Simporios did not hesitate.

"We're going to beryllium down with our fiscal advisor close away," helium said. "But erstwhile that gathering is done, it's ever a imagination home."