Record-breaking N.B. lottery winner kept winning ticket on dresser for nearly a year

A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.

A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.

According to a news release from Atlantic Lottery, Merel Chiasson from Bas-Caraquet won $64 million from Lotto 6/49 on Thursday, claiming the massive prize only 19 days before it was due to expire.

The winning Gold Ball Jackpot was drawn on April 15, 2023, but Chiasson didn’t expect he was the winner, keeping his ticket with a collection of others at home.

“I’ve always done it like that and I never thought I would win big, so I leave the tickets there and didn’t worry too much about it,” he said in the release.

Chiasson, a crab fisherman for 40 years, said he’ll use the money to fully retire and help out his family.

“I don’t want anything big,” he said. “It’s not going to change me, I’m still the same person.”