$1M lottery winner shocked when extra zeros show up on scratch ticket

When Joe Hughes of Charlottetown scanned the bar code on his scratch ticket and saw he had a major winner, he was expecting four zeros.

"I scanned the barcode and it said, 'Major winner - contact Atlantic Lottery,'" Hughes said in a news release.

"We didn't know what the amount was since I didn't scratch it. The ticket says there are lots of $10,000 prizes so I assumed that's what it was."

But when he scratched it and counted up the zeros he found six. He shared the news first with his children.

"My daughter said, 'It's too late for April Fool's,'" he said.

"She and my son were looking at the ticket and finally realized it's real and that I did win the grand prize."

Financial flexibility

Hughes said his children will be the main beneficiaries of the prize.

"The main focus is the kids' education. This is a big help there, for sure," he said.

Hughes has worked for Bell Aliant for 36 years and said he has no intention of stopping any time soon.

But in addition to the comfort of knowing his children's education costs will be covered, the win gives him the flexibility to consider early retirement, and maybe some renovations for his home.

Hughes is the second major lottery winner in Charlottetown this year.

In January, restaurant owner Seyedazim Sharif won $2 million.

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