Man in Iraq wins lottery jackpot in the United States

TORONTO - "Are you sure? Are you sure?" - M. from Baghdad couldn't quite believe his luck when he got the phone call to say he had won the CA$8.7 million jackpot in the Oregon Megabucks. He was driving in his car and was on his way to the bank. One can but wonder what he ended up telling his bank manager that day.

Last week M. picked up his prize at the Oregon Lottery offices in Salem, Oregon. The Iraqi winner opted to remain anonymous to keep himself and his loved ones out of harm's way and he will have the prize paid out in 25 installments of CA$350,000 before taxes.

Oregon state lottery spokesman Chuck Baumann spoke to the Associated Press and said that this was the first time in the lottery's history that a person living overseas had bought a Megabucks ticket online and struck it rich. He added that "the lottery has no restrictions on foreigners winning prizes or buying tickets through an online agent."

M. had ordered his tickets through a website which provides people from all over the world with a secure online purchasing service. The firm has established offices in the US and Europe physically purchasing official tickets on behalf of players from Canada and anywhere else on the planet.