Winnipeg Winner Surprises Family with $480K Prize

Congratulations Mark!

Winnipegger Mark S. enjoys making his family smile, and he treated his recent win the same way.

“We were having dinner to celebrate upcoming birthdays, and I passed along an envelope and said I had big news.” As they opened the envelope, he explained to them that a large Lotto Max win had occurred in Winnipeg. “I said, ‘I went to check Lotto Max, so everyone’s eyes lit up, and they were in suspense; then I said AND… we didn’t win Lotto Max. But when I was checking my ticket on PlayNow, I won a prize!’”

The morning of his win, after realizing he did not win Lotto Max, Mark decided to play a few spins on a new game, 88 Fortunes Jackpot Festival. He ended up winning the game’s progressive jackpot!

His family could not believe their eyes when looking at the printed screenshot of his win, and there were a lot of smiles around the table.

While picking up his winnings, Mark explained how the game played out.

“The first three columns had the special Phoenix symbol, and those reels stopped spinning. I knew something big was going to happen. Then the fourth reel got one. And then the fifth came. And it all stopped. I said, ‘I won!, I won!’ It was just like the movie Vegas Vacation,” Mark laughed. “I saw the jackpot reset, and I said to myself, ‘Holy

It sure was: Mark’s $4.40 winning spin netted a $50 prize plus the Jackpot Festival progressive of $480,706.29!

Mark and his wife, Shawna, visited the PlayNow Lounge several days after his big win on November 30. Like with many progressive jackpot wins, 88 Fortunes Jackpot Festival prizes go through a special verification process that double-checks to make sure jackpot contributions from all participating sites are included in the prize payout. Mark shared his feelings about the progressive win experience: “It was exciting! It was stressful during that waiting time, and it was so surreal!”

The happy couple are still making plans for their winnings, with ideas including taking a family vacation, gifting to their children towards first home purchases, and possibly vacation properties or buying some toys for their backyard acreage. They realize how fortunate they are with this windfall, and they are also exploring charitable giving options.

Congratulations Mark and Shawna!

PlayNow offers a series of tools to help players set budgets for spending and time. For more information, check out our GameSense page.