‘Joy didn’t believe me, but I finally convinced her’: PEI man wins $8.6 million in Lotto 6/49 draw


It was an Easter dinner a couple from New Annan, PEI, will likely never forget.

Gary McCourt and his wife Joy checked their email after learning someone on the Island won $8.6 million in a Lotto 6/49 draw.

When they logged on to the Atlantic Lottery website, they were stunned to learn they’d won the big prize.

“I told Joy to give me the number so I could call in to the Atlantic Lottery right away,” Gary said in a news release from the Atlantic Lottery.

“I had to call back half an hour later to see what she had said the first time because I couldn’t hear a word she was saying over my wife and mother-in-law standing beside me screeching.”

Gary is a longtime Lotto 6/49 player — winning $100,000 on the game back in 2015.

“I do a little bit of pranking, so I have a hard time convincing anybody,” Gary said. “The first time was one thing, Joy didn’t believe me, but I finally convinced her.”

Plans for his winnings include purchasing a beautiful new home in PEI and taking a dream trip to Australia. McCourt, who uses a wheelchair, also plans to purchase a new accessible vehicle that he said will give him his freedom back.


Leave a Comment