‘I just about fell over,’ says $46M winner of Manitoba’s largest Lotto 6

The Whitemouth man who won the Lotto 6-49 gold ball, the largest jackpot in Manitoba’s history, says he’s going to use the $46 million to enrich his loved ones.

When Earl Giesbrecht scanned his winning lottery ticket at his local supermarket, he said he was happy to win, but his mind turned blank when he saw the historic amount.

“I wasn’t going to go check my tickets. I always buy for the Tuesday-Wednesday draw and Friday-Saturday draw. At this point, I was frustrated that I never win, but I went into the store and it said ‘not a winner,’ ‘not a winner,’ then a free play,’” Giesbrecht said at a celebratory meeting with reporters on Thursday.

Manitoba’s newest multimillionaire said his largest win before the gold ball jackpot was $1,200.

“And then the other one came out, and I thought I won $46,000. … When I started counting the zeros, the cashier said, ‘It’s actually $46 million,’ and I just about fell over,” he said in a news release shared by Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries.

Immediately after winning, he said he called his brother.

His family was in the audience Thursday, cheering him on. Among his supporters was his newlywed son, whose wedding was on the same day as the draw.

“They will tell dad what to do and what not to do,” he quipped.

His children, and children-in-law, are getting new vehicles of their choosing, the winner said, adding he hopes the funds flow to his grandchildren and generations to come.

News of the historic win at Giesbrecht’s home in Whitemouth, a town just over 100 km from Winnipeg, spread quickly, he said.

“Whitemouth Fire Department needs a water tanker. So, they have so much money saved, and I’m going to donate whatever it is that they need to get the water tanker because if anyone’s house in the area is burning, they’re going to come,” Giesbrecht said.

“I want them to call it ‘Big E.’”

Giesbrecht grew up in the eastern Manitoba community before moving away and working in the north for 40 years. He moved back to his hometown in December, shortly after his retirement.