A Quebec Woman Just Won A $55 Million Jackpot After Not Checking Her Ticket For A Month

Linda Phillips, a resident of the Outaouais region of Quebec, has won a $55 million lottery jackpot just in time for the holidays and her birthday — but it wasn't so easy for Loto-Québec to find her.

Loto-Québec had been asking Quebecers to check their tickets since mid-November, seeking the winner of an October 30 draw. MTL Blog even reported on it.

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$55,000,000 Lotto Max jackpot won by Linda Phillips

All the while, the winning ticket was sitting in Phillips' kitchen in the municipality of Cantley, north of Gatineau.

"I saw that they were looking for this person but because they didn't say Cantley, I didn't think it was me," Phillips said in an interview with Loto-Québec. 

With a pile of about 10 lottery tickets piling up, waiting to be validated, Phillips said she enlisted her son's help to check them out on his phone.

When he called her over and told her she'd won the $55 million jackpot, Phillips said she started to scream.

They confirmed her win that night at a local retailer. 

"It was utter disbelief," Phillips said. "I thought we'd made a mistake."

Phillips was planning to retire in a year but she'll use the winnings to retire early and to make sure her family is taken care of, she said.