Louis Chikoski stepped away from the oversized cheque held up to the cameras by his wife, Jo-Anne, and deftly spun it to face her.

“Did you actually look at this?” he asked.

The number — $50 million — still leaves him almost unable to brush his teeth without throwing up from the shock.

It's an amount that will let the “ordinary Joe” couple from Thunder Bay take the honeymoon they couldn't afford 23 years ago.

“I've always wanted to see all of Canada ... the most beautiful country in the world,” said Jo-Anne, 54, the words catching in her throat. Then maybe Italy and Norway, where she has relatives.

It could be a family trip, she said, eyes welling up. The couple don't have children but they have nieces and nephews dear to them.

The pair, who have played the lottery for decades, bought the quick-pick Lotto Max ticket at the Good Luck Lottery Shoppe back home.

They didn't check the numbers for a few days — then they rushed to the shop to get it validated.

“(Louis) went white and his lips went blue. I got so scared,” Jo-Anne said. “We just keep staring at it and staring at it.”

Louis, 56, will probably speed up his retirement plans. He was set to leave the local paper mill in September; he has worked there for 40 years. The seat in his truck is propped up by a cooler, so a new Lexus might be in the cards too.

But mostly the money means less worry for their close-knit family.

“We want to keep our feet on the ground, enjoy life and help family,” said Jo-Anne. “We can take care of you now.”

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Read more about: