Oshawa man chooses lifetime flat rate over $25,000 per year

An Ontario lottery winner settled on a lump sum prize of over $25,000 a year for life.

Rolf Balentin, 56, from Oshawa, told OLG that he normally plays Lotto 6/49 but has opted for a daily drawing on June 15 instead. Balentin matched all five main numbers and won a second prize of $25,000 a year for life, but settled on the $500,000 prize in advance.

Balentin says he has won the lottery before, but this prize is his biggest win to date.

His parents dropped him off at home when he found out he had won through the OLG app.

“It was crazy,” Balentin said.

When he showed his parents the winning ticket over the phone, Balentin said they were “just as surprised” as he was.

Balentin says he wants to use his prize money to manage his finances, do some home renovations and go back to school and become a physical therapist.

“This win came at just the right time,” he said.

The winning ticket was purchased from Circle K on Park Road in Oshawa.

Late last month, on June 28th, a life-changing $70 million Lotto Max prize expired after a year of being unclaimed.

OLG spokesman Tony Bitonti told CTV News Toronto it was the largest unclaimed ticket in Canadian history. There were 1,800 people trying to claim the prize, but no one was the rightful owner.