The first real jackpot of the new Lotto 6/49 format introduced in September was finally won in Quebec on Saturday evening.
• Read more: Lotto Max: How many new millionaires in Quebec?
The 6/49 draw for the first Ballon d’Or in history will allow ticket holders purchased in Quebec to get their hands on $36 million.
The winning ticket was purchased online on the Loto-Québec site, so the state corporation still doesn’t know which region the lucky winner is in on Sunday morning.
The new Lotto 6/49 formula is now made up of two major prizes.
The first draw, the “Classic Jackpot”, allows you to win a fixed amount of $5 million when you have the right combination of six figures, a concept well-known by fans of this lottery for decades.
Golden Ball Jackpot works with an abacus of 30 white balls and one golden ball.
During each draw, one ball is drawn. Each white ball allows the person with the correct combination to win $1 million.
The gold ball size starts at $10 million and gradually increases, as the number of white balls on the abacus decreases, up to $2 million with each draw.
It took 14 draws for the Golden Ball to be drawn for the first time since the concept was introduced on Sept. 14, which explains Saturday’s $36 million haul.
If all 30 white balls are drawn before the golden ball, the amount technically reaches $68 million.
