LaSalle grandpa wins $350,000 with scratch ticket

A LaSalle grandfather already has plans for his big $350,000 lotto win.

Brian Hopson won the money after playing Instant Crossword Extreme.

The retired father, grandfather, and great-grandfather says he bought the ticket and went home to play it.

“I thought I had won $100,000, and my heart stopped. I counted again and realized I had revealed 11 words,” he said at the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto. “I got in my truck and flew back to the store. I used the ticket checker and saw the prize was $350,000!”

Hopson says the ‘Big Winner’ message came up when he had the retailer check the ticket.

“It was one heck of a rush! It hit me like a ton of bricks,” he says.

Hopson says he plans to help his wife retire and pay off some bills.

The winning ticket was purchased at Canadian Tire on Dougall Avenue in Windsor.