Melhig, who hails from West Africa but did not specify the country, moved to Winnipeg two years ago.

In April, he bought a ticket and won $1.5 million (about P81 million). Last month, he bought another ticket — and won another $2 million (around P108 million).

With his first payout, he bought a new home for his wife and children. With the second windfall, he hopes to buy a business — maybe a car wash or a gas station, he says — and “go to school.”

Melhig had a one in 900,000 chance of winning the first time, according to lottery officials. The second time, his odds were one in 1.3 million.

So what are the chances of someone winning two major jackpots in such a short period of time? Difficult to calculate, the Western Canada Lottery Corporation says.

Lottery officials say everything about his twin wins is legit.

“We didn’t find anything out of the ordinary and we are happy for him,” lottery spokeswoman Andrea Marantz told AFP. KM

RELATED STORIES:

US man buys lottery ticket after rain stops him from mowing his lawn and bags $10M jackpot

Man buying food for his kids at McDonald’s scores $200,000 in lottery