Attaq Makpah got an email Oct. 13 saying he had won $22 on his Daily Grand ticket through subscription spot – but there was a curious line at the end of the email, saying he would be receiving a call from Western Canada Lottery Corporation’s prize payout office.
“Friday morning, I woke up and I usually don’t have e-mails that early,” said Makpah. “I had never seen the note about them calling before.”
After talking with his father-in-law, that led him to search his numbers online, where he found a match with the top prize numbers for the draw.
“We were going back and forth and I waited for a bit, then at 10 in the morning, I called the 1-800 number ” said Makpah. “That’s when the lady on the phone told me that I had won the grand prize of Daily Grand.”
That grand prize was $7 million thanks to matching all five regular draw numbers — 5, 11, 20, 22, 37 — and the Grand Number of 4.
Makpah said he was speechless when he was told and he still didn’t know what to say when he went to Winnipeg to claim his prize.
He said he couldn’t remember his first feeling when he was told, but he’s still in disbelief.
“I have the cheque, but it’s still unbelievable,” he said. “
Two days later, Makpah married wife Kaylee in Rankin Inlet, before flying to Winnipeg to receive his prize.
He told his then-fiancee, Kaylee, about the win and she didn’t believe him when he told her.
That was until they arrived at the lottery office.
“I told myself, ‘We gotta figure something out, if it’s true’,” said Makpah.
Makpah’s immediate plans are to pay off some debt and once that’s taken care of, he said he plans on getting a dream home for him and his wife.
“Somewhere in Canada, most likely,” he said. “I haven’t figured out the place yet, but it’ll be somewhere in Canada.”
The prize marks the largest win ever for Rankin Inlet and Nunavut.
