Canadian Woman Chooses $730 a Week Instead of Lump Sum of $730K

A Canadian woman’s lottery prize choice to get weekly payments instead of a lump sum has people debating whether or not it was the right choice.

Just before Christmas 2025, Maria Caroli was given a scratch-off lottery ticket as a gift by her partner, and it turned out to be the grand prize winner.

Caroli is a resident of Laval, Quebec. Loto-Québec has not shared her age, although social media rumors swirled that she may be “too old” to get the full prize.

Loto-Québec’s “Gagnant à vie” presented Caroli with two choices based on the rules of the game: she could either get CAD 1,000 ($730) for the rest of her life or take a CAD 1 million ($730,084) check.

She chose the weekly payout option, which earlier this week became a huge talking point on social media, with many commenting that she should have taken the lump sum.

When picking up her check Caroli stated that the weekly option meant she wouldn’t have to worry about money and she would be able to continue living her life the same way.

The top prize winner has shared that she rarely plays the lottery.

Additional Information Regarding the Payments

In case Carloi passes, her heirs will instead be the ones receiving the weekly payments. The time it would take for the weekly payments to reach the lump sum is around 20 years.

The large sum would have allowed her to increase the money’s value over time by placing it into a savings account.

Laval, Full of Lottery Winners

Last December Maria Caroli was not the only lucky one to win the lottery. In early December, 8 strangers purchased a Formule Groupe ticket.

The group’s ticket was drawn on December 13, and it won them the CAD 5-million ($3.65 million) Lotto 6/49 Classic Jackpot. Each of the 8 got CAD 714,285 (ca. $521,000) after they chose to take an even split of the winnings.

The money was given out to each of the winners at the start of January.

These Loto-Québec tickets allow a group of people to buy shares in a large set of lottery selections.