It was a great day for the scandal-plagued Ontario Lottery Corporation and an even greater day for seven humble construction workers.

The Niagara men have been declared the rightful winners of an alleged $12.5 million lottery fraud from seven years ago.

At a Thursday news conference, they received a cheque for $14.85 million — their jackpot, plus interest accumulated since the December 2003 draw. Each man will collect more than $2.1 million.

Those who know the men say they have a strong work ethic, family values and simple tastes — Tim Hortons coffee before work and a pint of beer afterwards. They turned up at a Toronto hotel to collect their cheque dressed in jeans and T-shirts. One wore a ball cap; another had a T-shirt that read: “Oops, sorry. My fault you’re an idiot.”

When prodded about what extravagance they would allow themselves, Daniel MacGregor declared: “I’ll probably buy a pretty expensive truck.”

But in their aw-shucks attitude, none seemed upset their fortune was almost denied to them by three suspects connected to a variety store fraud back in December 2003. The men were originally told their ticket didn’t win.

“The consensus is we would have been broke now anyways,” MacGregor joked.

The winners — who also include Adam Barnett, Daniel Campbell, Jason Dykema, Michael Maddocks, and brothers James and Joseph Reaman — are potential witnesses in the upcoming court case, which could be one of the most extraordinary in the OLG’s history.

In December 2004, Kathleen and Kenneth Chung and their father, Jun-Chul Chung, were charged fraud and money laundering.

The case was one of five identified in 2007 by Andre Marin, Ontario’s ombudsman, who accused the OLG of turning a blind eye to suspicious insider wins.

Police seized or froze $10 million in assets from the family, including a $2 million house in Vaughan, a $1.3 million house in Oakville, five luxury cars, jewellery and more. The OLG also plans to file a civil lawsuit against them.

The OLG announced a search for the rightful winners back in September. The construction workers learned their ownership claim had been approved earlier this week.

When the men bought the ticket, they worked for Bethlehem Trenching, a Burlington-based utility digging company. They all worked construction jobs right up until Wednesday, never letting on that they were about to collect a fortune.

Barnett, 32, said they all plan to keep working but “I’ll retire early, maybe at 45.”

But first thing’s first. After speaking to the media, they hopped in a limousine bound for Burlington to party.