A Langdon man who spent decades playing the same lottery numbers is now planning a very different kind of future after winning a $5-million Lotto 6/49 prize.
James Munro won the jackpot in the June 13 Lotto 6/49 draw after purchasing his ticket through Play Alberta, the province’s regulated online gaming platform.
For Munro, the win came through a routine that had become part of his life. According to Play Alberta, he had been playing the same set of numbers every week for years. Nearly 44 years after Lotto 6/49 first launched in Canada, those numbers finally delivered the kind of prize most players only imagine.
Munro discovered the win the next morning while getting ready for work. He had received an email notification from Play Alberta, but at first could not make out the amount.
“I didn’t have my glasses on and I was looking at the email and said to myself, ‘I can’t see the number,’” Munro said in a statement released by Play Alberta. “When I put my glasses on, it was very big. It’s shocking.”
The size of the prize took time to register.
Munro said the moment may feel more real when he no longer has to make the long drive north for work. He indicated that retirement is now part of the plan, turning a regular workday morning into the beginning of a much larger life change.
His wife was one of the first people he contacted after seeing the winning notice. According to Play Alberta, she also had trouble processing the news and the number of zeroes attached to it.
The Langdon resident said he does not plan to rush into major decisions. Like many lottery winners, he intends to take some time before deciding exactly how to use the money. Early possibilities include an international golf trip and travel to Australia.
The $5-million win also marks a significant payout for Play Alberta. The platform said Munro’s prize ties the largest lottery payout recorded through its online service. A previous $5-million Lotto 6/49 prize was also paid through Play Alberta in May 2025.
Play Alberta is operated as Alberta’s regulated online gaming platform. The service allows eligible players in the province to purchase lottery tickets online, including through subscription options that automatically enter players into draws.
Munro said he appreciated the convenience of buying tickets online, particularly the ability to keep his regular numbers entered without having to remember each draw.
While most lottery players know the odds are long, Munro’s win is the kind of story that keeps familiar numbers alive in wallets, kitchen drawers and online accounts across the province. For some, the numbers come from birthdays or anniversaries. For others, they are simply a pattern chosen once and never abandoned.
In Munro’s case, the same numbers carried on for decades before finally landing on the right night.
The win also brings a local connection to a national game that has been part of Canadian life since the early 1980s. Lotto 6/49 has produced winners across the country for generations, but this prize landed close to home for Langdon and the surrounding region.
For Munro, the next chapter appears likely to include fewer work trips and more time for family, travel and golf.
What began as another ordinary morning before work became something else entirely: an email, a pair of glasses, and the sudden realization that a long-standing weekly habit had turned into a $5-million payday.