Lotto 6/49 jackpot of $64M is biggest in Canadian history

It has been said that the lottery is a tax on stupidity, but with a $64 million jackpot, a little foolishness can really pay off.

The top prize for Saturday's Lotto 6/49 draw is the biggest in Canadian history. There have been no winners in the last 11 draws.

The record jackpot is a boon for ticket sellers who have seen an increase in bettors. The Grand-Père dépanneur in Louiseville, a riverside town south of Trois-Rivières, is doing good business.

"It's going, we got some good movement," said Michel Ringuette, owner of the shop.

The dépanneur has a reputation for being lucky among locals. In 2005 it sold a winning ticket that won $8 million.

"It caused long-term effects, and we're still feeling the adrenaline, even 10 years later," Ringuette said.

The store that sells the winning tickets wins 1 per cent of the prize.

The previous largest jackpot in Canadian history was won in April 2013, for $63.4 million. It was split among four winning tickets.

The odds of correctly guessing the six numbers and winning the jackpot is about one in 14 million. But Patrice Lavoie, spokesperson for Loto-Québec, says Quebecers tend to be lucky in the lottery.

"27 per cent of all tickets are bought in Quebec, but the jackpot has been won a little more frequently than that in Quebec. So Quebecers are lucky in Lotto 6/49," he said.