{"id":136658,"date":"2026-03-09T21:44:44","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T01:44:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/?p=136658"},"modified":"2026-03-09T21:44:45","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T01:44:45","slug":"a-life-changing-trip-to-the-grocery-store","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/actualites\/a-life-changing-trip-to-the-grocery-store\/","title":{"rendered":"A life changing trip to the grocery store"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Fran\u00e7ois Masse didn\u2019t know that a simple trip to the grocery story was going to change his life.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hawkesbury retiree is the latest big lottery winner in the Prescott and Russell region with a $55 million jackpot from the January 9 LottoMax draw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Masse was just leaving the Asselin\u2019s Your Independent Grocer store after stopping in for some purchases. Then he remembered that he had a \u201cfree play\u201d ticket to redeem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI added ENCORE for a dollar, put the ticket in my wallet, and went on about my day,\u201d he told lottery officials at the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto when he went there to redeem his winning ticket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA few days later, I remembered I had three tickets to check, so I scanned them using the OLG app,\u201d stated Masse. \u201cThe first ticket earned me a free play, the second ticket won me $40, and the last one was the big one. I saw the \u2018Big Winner\u2019 message on the screen and went numb with disbelief. It was like the world stopped for a minute.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Masse recalled that the rest of the morning that day was a complete haze for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was an out-of-body experience,\u201d he stated. \u201cI kept telling myself it couldn\u2019t be true. I set the ticket down on the counter and paced around the house for five minutes, trembling and wondering if it was real. Then I checked the ticket again and saw the same \u2018Big Winner\u2019 message.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He called OLG about the prize claim process and then spent some more time thinking about his unexpected good fortune. He had spent his life in the education field before retiring and now this ticket was a new life-changing event for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI just looked out my window and thought about what this meant for me and my family, my kids, my mom, and my brothers,\u201d he stated. \u201cI was overwhelmed with gratitude. It took about three hours to process the news before I called my family to tell them. Hearing the words \u2018I won $55 million\u2019 come out of my mouth felt even more unreal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At first, Masse\u2019s family were dumbfounded at the news and he spent a bit of time convincing them it was true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe like to joke a lot,\u201d he stated, laughing, \u201cand they didn\u2019t believe me at first. We all know we\u2019ll commit to a joke and pull each other\u2019s legs, so they thought I was just really committed to my prank. Even my mom didn\u2019t believe me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He invited his children over to his home with a story about a late Christmas gift for them that had arrived at last. Then he had them all scan the ticket themselves to see the \u201cBig Winner\u201d message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere were a lot of happy tears,\u201d he stated. \u201cIt was a wonderful, incredible moment to share as a family. I was filled with joy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Masse is working on plans for the best use of his good fortune.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe first thing I want to do is arrange a family trip to celebrate this win,\u201d he stated, \u201cthen I\u2019ll plan some \u2018bucket list\u2019 travel. I\u2019ve always dreamed of travelling to Formula 1 races all over the world. Maybe I\u2019ll tour some NFL stadiums and catch some football, take some golf trips, and enjoy some mother-son adventures We have lots of opportunities to make memories together. There may also be a new home and car in my future. I\u2019ve always loved horses, I never actually rode any, but I bought a stable. So when people ask if I\u2019m into horses, well, I guess I am now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making sure his family is secure is also an essential of his future financial plans now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLegacy is important to me,\u201d he stated. \u201cI want to make sure I have the right advisors to guide me before making any big decisions. This win isn\u2019t just for me. It\u2019s for my family and the legacy we\u2019ll leave behind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fran\u00e7ois Masse didn\u2019t know that a simple trip to the grocery story was going to change his life. The Hawkesbury retiree is the latest big lottery winner in the Prescott and Russell region with a $55 million jackpot from the January 9 LottoMax draw. Masse was just leaving the Asselin\u2019s Your Independent Grocer store after […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":136659,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-136658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-actualites"],"acf":[],"featured_media_global":{"id":135556,"title":{"rendered":"lotto winner"},"description":{"rendered":""},"caption":{"rendered":""},"alt_text":"","media_type":"image","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","media_details":{"width":1920,"height":1080,"file":"2026\/03\/lotto-winner.jpg","filesize":224083,"sizes":{"medium":{"file":"lotto-winner-300x169.jpg","width":300,"height":169,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":12876},"large":{"file":"lotto-winner-1024x576.jpg","width":1024,"height":576,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":69561},"thumbnail":{"file":"lotto-winner-150x150.jpg","width":150,"height":150,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":7637},"medium_large":{"file":"lotto-winner-768x432.jpg","width":768,"height":432,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":47301},"1536x1536":{"file":"lotto-winner-1536x864.jpg","width":1536,"height":864,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":116695},"Image Size 500x500":{"file":"lotto-winner-500x500.jpg","width":500,"height":500,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":39478}},"image_meta":{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0","keywords":[]}},"source_url":"https:\/\/editionap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/03\/lotto-winner.jpg"},"yoast_head":"\nA life changing trip to the grocery store - Tribune-Express<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/actualites\/a-life-changing-trip-to-the-grocery-store\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A life changing trip to the grocery store - Tribune-Express\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Fran\u00e7ois Masse didn\u2019t know that a simple trip to the grocery story was going to change his life. The Hawkesbury retiree is the latest big lottery winner in the Prescott and Russell region with a $55 million jackpot from the January 9 LottoMax draw. Masse was just leaving the Asselin\u2019s Your Independent Grocer store after […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/actualites\/a-life-changing-trip-to-the-grocery-store\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tribune-Express\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-10T01:44:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-10T01:44:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/editionap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/03\/lotto-winner.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Anil Jhalli\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Anil Jhalli\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/actualites\/a-life-changing-trip-to-the-grocery-store\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/actualites\/a-life-changing-trip-to-the-grocery-store\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Anil Jhalli\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/a09095fdf65e09e747105760fe90175c\"},\"headline\":\"A life changing trip to the grocery store\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-10T01:44:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-10T01:44:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/actualites\/a-life-changing-trip-to-the-grocery-store\/\"},\"wordCount\":676,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/actualites\/a-life-changing-trip-to-the-grocery-store\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/editionap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/03\/lotto-winner.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Actualit\u00e9s\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/actualites\/a-life-changing-trip-to-the-grocery-store\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/actualites\/a-life-changing-trip-to-the-grocery-store\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/actualites\/a-life-changing-trip-to-the-grocery-store\/\",\"name\":\"A life changing trip to the grocery store - Tribune-Express\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/actualites\/a-life-changing-trip-to-the-grocery-store\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/actualites\/a-life-changing-trip-to-the-grocery-store\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/editionap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/03\/lotto-winner.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-10T01:44:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-10T01:44:45+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/a09095fdf65e09e747105760fe90175c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/actualites\/a-life-changing-trip-to-the-grocery-store\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/actualites\/a-life-changing-trip-to-the-grocery-store\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/actualites\/a-life-changing-trip-to-the-grocery-store\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/editionap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/03\/lotto-winner.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/editionap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/03\/lotto-winner.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/actualites\/a-life-changing-trip-to-the-grocery-store\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Accueil\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A life changing trip to the grocery store\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Tribune-Express\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/a09095fdf65e09e747105760fe90175c\",\"name\":\"Anil Jhalli\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/63becc64fff8877a05400459aa003b94a1fdc8d3954acacc688ee6a2bc39fef8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/63becc64fff8877a05400459aa003b94a1fdc8d3954acacc688ee6a2bc39fef8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Anil Jhalli\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A life changing trip to the grocery store - Tribune-Express","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/actualites\/a-life-changing-trip-to-the-grocery-store\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A life changing trip to the grocery store - Tribune-Express","og_description":"Fran\u00e7ois Masse didn\u2019t know that a simple trip to the grocery story was going to change his life. The Hawkesbury retiree is the latest big lottery winner in the Prescott and Russell region with a $55 million jackpot from the January 9 LottoMax draw. Masse was just leaving the Asselin\u2019s Your Independent Grocer store after […]","og_url":"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/actualites\/a-life-changing-trip-to-the-grocery-store\/","og_site_name":"Tribune-Express","article_published_time":"2026-03-10T01:44:44+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-03-10T01:44:45+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/editionap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/03\/lotto-winner.jpg","width":1920,"height":1080,"type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Anil Jhalli","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Anil Jhalli","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/actualites\/a-life-changing-trip-to-the-grocery-store\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/actualites\/a-life-changing-trip-to-the-grocery-store\/"},"author":{"name":"Anil Jhalli","@id":"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/a09095fdf65e09e747105760fe90175c"},"headline":"A life changing trip to the grocery store","datePublished":"2026-03-10T01:44:44+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-10T01:44:45+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/actualites\/a-life-changing-trip-to-the-grocery-store\/"},"wordCount":676,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/actualites\/a-life-changing-trip-to-the-grocery-store\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/editionap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/03\/lotto-winner.jpg","articleSection":["Actualit\u00e9s"],"inLanguage":"en-CA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/actualites\/a-life-changing-trip-to-the-grocery-store\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/actualites\/a-life-changing-trip-to-the-grocery-store\/","url":"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/actualites\/a-life-changing-trip-to-the-grocery-store\/","name":"A life changing trip to the grocery store - Tribune-Express","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/actualites\/a-life-changing-trip-to-the-grocery-store\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/actualites\/a-life-changing-trip-to-the-grocery-store\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/editionap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/03\/lotto-winner.jpg","datePublished":"2026-03-10T01:44:44+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-10T01:44:45+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/a09095fdf65e09e747105760fe90175c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/actualites\/a-life-changing-trip-to-the-grocery-store\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-CA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/actualites\/a-life-changing-trip-to-the-grocery-store\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/actualites\/a-life-changing-trip-to-the-grocery-store\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/editionap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/03\/lotto-winner.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/editionap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/03\/lotto-winner.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/actualites\/a-life-changing-trip-to-the-grocery-store\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Accueil","item":"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A life changing trip to the grocery store"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/","name":"Tribune-Express","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/a09095fdf65e09e747105760fe90175c","name":"Anil Jhalli","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/63becc64fff8877a05400459aa003b94a1fdc8d3954acacc688ee6a2bc39fef8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/63becc64fff8877a05400459aa003b94a1fdc8d3954acacc688ee6a2bc39fef8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Anil Jhalli"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136658","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136658"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136658\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":136661,"href":"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136658\/revisions\/136661"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/136659"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136658"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136658"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136658"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}