Canadian janitor refuses to quit his job after multimillion-dollar lottery win

Janitor Vito Halasan won a life-changing stack of cash. But his refusal to do one thing has left many people scratching their heads.

We’ve probably all daydreamed about winning the lottery and immediately quitting our jobs at some point or another.

But a Canadian man has made headlines this week after doing exactly the opposite.

Vito Halasan, a 58-year-old janitor from Surrey in British Columbia, won a whopping $CA7 million ($AU7.48 million) in a British Columbia Lottery Corporation draw on April 27 — just days after his birthday.

Initially, he literally couldn’t believe his luck after he managed to match all six numbers.

“I remember scanning my ticket and seeing all these numbers,” Mr Halasan, according to a lottery press release.

“I have really blurry vision so I had to hold the ticket right up to my face. I couldn’t believe it.”

Vito Halasan says he will give some of his winnings to his family. Picture: BCLC

When it finally sunk in, he called his daughter to share the good news — but she also had trouble taking in the momentous win.

“He sat me down at the table … and then he whispered really quietly to me that he won $7 million dollars,” his unnamed daughter said.

“I didn’t believe him. We had to check online several times.”

However, while his initial reaction was understandable, many members of the public were shocked when Mr Halasan revealed he wouldn’t be changing one area of his life despite his windfall.

The father-of-three — who also has four grandkids — has refused to quit his job as a janitor, although he has confirmed he will scale back his hours.

Jeez, I already quit my job just hoping I’d win the lottery!

— eric denhoff (@EDenhoff) May 18, 2019

I could never understand that decision

— Shalom levin (@shalomwar) May 29, 2019

Mr Halasan and his family moved to Canada from the Philippines back in 2009.

Now that he’s a freshly-minted multi-millionaire, Mr Halasan said he would be able to afford to give his loved ones the life they always dreamt of.

“I buy lottery tickets so I can dream,” Mr Halasan said. “I dream of being able to take care of my kids and make their future better.

“Now we’ll be able to buy a nice house for my children and grandchildren.”

However, Mr Halasan isn’t the only jackpot winner who has made headlines after vowing to keep their humble job after winning a fortune.

In 2017, a Woolworths night-fill worker from Perth scored a $1 million Division 1 prize.

But the 47-year-old woman said she would be heading right back to Woolies for her regular shift.

“I really enjoy my job so I’ll be heading to Woolies tonight for my usual shift,” the woman told The West Australian at the time.

“Now that our bank account will be looking a bit healthier I might see if I can change a couple of shifts — the midnight finishes can get a bit tiring.”

But even more surprising was the Sydney Powerball winner who promised to stick with her health job — even after winning a staggering $107.57 million earlier this year.

The healthcare provider, who wished to remain anonymous, said she would keep working and that she also planned to share her winnings with her family, give “a whole slab of money” to her favourite charity, and perhaps even “buy a caravan and travel around”.

“I’m so passionate about my job. It will drive me to do more health work for causes important to me,” she told The Lott at the time.

“I’m not quite sure what to do but of course I will be helping my family.”

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