22-year-old grocery store bagger wins $70 million after buying lotto ticket at work

QUEBEC CITY, Canada - A 22-year-old grocery store bagger won a whopping $70 million jackpot after buying a lottery ticket from the store where he works.

Gregory Mathieu works at the IGA Extra store in Quebec City, Canada, CBC reports. About 20 minutes before the counter closed, he bought a Lotto Max ticket that his mom had asked him to purchase.

The Quebec Lotto said Mathieu showed up at work the next day and checked the numbers -- only to realize he was holding the winning ticket worth $70 million. It's the largest jackpot in the Quebec Lotto's history.

"I never thought I would win," he told CBC. "I couldn't believe my eyes, and I still can't believe it. I went to sit down because I couldn't talk or think."

Mathieu called his mother to tell her the good news -- then had his brother come pick him up from work because he was too in shock to drive.

He left his car covered in snow in the grocery store's parking lot -- just as well, since he said his vehicle kept breaking down, he told CTV. One of the first things he plans to spend money on is a brand-new car.

"I no longer have to wonder how I'm going to pay for my apartment with a salary of $12.55 an hour," he told reporters.

Mathieu says he will split the winnings with seven other members of his family.

"I know that money does not buy happiness," he told CBC. "But the family brings happiness."

“We are a very close-knit family and I am thrilled that we are able to experience this life-changing moment together,” his mother Sandra Julien said, according to lottery officials.

The family says they'll soon be taking a family vacation together.