TJ Manotoc

Fil-Canadian Father from Surrey Wins Record-Breaking $80-Million Lotto Max Jackpot

Justin Simporios at the BCLC media conference

Article (news)

<p>SURREY, B.C. — A Filipino-Canadian father from Surrey has just made history as Canada’s biggest solo lottery winner, after claiming a staggering $80-million Lotto Max jackpot from the May 9, 2025 draw.</p><p>According to the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC), 35 year old Justin Simporios couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw the winning numbers. “It was 10:30 p.m. I saw that someone won $80 million in Surrey. I was joking and told my wife ‘we’re millionaires!’ and she told me to stop making that joke,” Simporios said in a <a href="https://corporate.bclc.com/articles/winners/2025/surrey-resident-wins-record-breaking--80-million-lotto-max-jackp.html">BCLC press conference.</a></p><p> “After, I manually checked each number before scanning [the ticket] using the BCLC Lotto! App. I cried and shouted, ‘we’re millionaires!’”&lt;</p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:560px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" style="position:static;visibility:visible;width:560px;height:316px;display:block;flex-grow:1" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1923085023390921202&amp;lang=en&amp;maxWidth=560px&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Aod2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2025-05-17T08%3A16%3A02.587474%3Abb590765-b585-4372-b88b-daa0c1181be5%26action%3Dedit&amp;sessionId=fde994621054748badeb075bd771e9bcaaa06649&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px" data-tweet-id="1923085023390921202"></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><p>He immediately woke up his wife to share the life-changing news — despite their daughter not feeling well at the time. “She was in complete disbelief and a bit mad at me because our daughter wasn’t feeling well,” he said, “but she agreed this was a good reason to wake her.”</p><p>Simporios, who works as a health and safety officer, has since resigned from his job. More than the luxury, he says the win means the chance to lift up his loved ones. “I want to help my family and my wife’s family. I’ll pay off my sister’s medical school debt and help my mom retire early – just giving my family a head start in life.”</p><p>Helping others is also part of his bigger plan. “I’ve struggled before and needed help. Even if I can give an ounce of happiness, I want to help where we can,” he added.</p><p>Simporios, who bought the lucky ticket at the Walmart Supercentre in Central City on King George Boulevard in Surrey, also plans to check a few items off his personal bucket list — such as watching an L.A. Lakers game in person before LeBron James retires, and returning to the Philippines for a family reunion. “My wife and kid have never visited!”</p><p>As for what truly matters now? “The biggest change will be having more time with my wife and family. We want to live with a purpose – to help the community around us,” he said.</p>

<p>A Filipino-Canadian father from Surrey has just made history as Canada’s biggest solo lottery winner, after claiming a staggering $80-million Lotto Max jackpot from the May 9, 2025 draw.</p>

A Filipino-Canadian father from Surrey has just made history as Canada’s biggest solo lottery winner, after claiming a staggering $80-million Lotto Max jackpot from the May 9, 2025 draw.

Fil-Canadian father from Surrey wins record-breaking $80-million lotto max jackpot

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Fil-Canadian father from Surrey wins record-breaking $80-million lotto max jackpot

TJ Manotoc

Published May 17, 2025 03:20 PM PHT

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Updated May 17, 2025 04:53 PM PHT

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