After two decades of trying his luck with lottery tickets, a Woodbridge man hit it big in the Dec. 28 ONTARIO 49 draw, taking home a six-figure cheque that gave him a little taste of main character complex.

Construction worker Giuseppe Di Pasquale has been purchasing lottery tickets for 20 years, but it was one ticket purchased at an Ultramar gas station on Highway 26 in Collingwood that would change his life $100K for the better.

Di Pasquale — in a move that would pay off big time — spent the extra $1 and added an ENCORE draw to his ticket. He managed to match six of the last seven ENCORE numbers in exact order to land his first big win.

"I was at home when I checked my ticket on the OLG App and I heard the Big Winner jingle. I couldn't believe it," said Di Pasquale at the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) Prize Centre in Toronto to collect his winnings.

He immediately got to work sharing the good news, telling a friend who immediately joined in with Di Pasquale's excitement. He told OLG staff that the whole situation had him feeling "like a character in a movie!"

He says that the win feels especially big after so many years of purchasing tickets and waiting for his big moment to arrive. "I've been playing for so long it feels nice to win," he said.

Such a vast increase in wealth will allow Di Pasquale to put down some money toward home renovations and plan a relaxing getaway in sunny Mexico.

With an extra $100,000 in the bank, he can probably afford to hang out on the beach for as long as he desires.