The BCLC’s media relations department has been busy this week.
First it was the Tuesday announcement of Randall Dunn’s big $500,000 Lotto 6/49 Extra win in Vernon.
Since then the BCLC has announced three more BC winners and all of them took home at least $500,000 from three different lottery games.
Patricia Ross of Gibsons won a $500,000 Extra prize from the Lotto Max draw on Sept. 2.
“I couldn’t believe it,” she said of the moment she discovered her big win at home. “I was in disbelief!”
She hasn’t made any long-term plans for the money yet, but Ross has already used her newfound wealth to brighten the day of everyone at Legion branch 109 in Gibsons.
“I did ring the bell at the Legion and that meant I was going to buy a drink for the house,” she excitedly explained.
Like Ross, Timothy Hockridge was at home when he checked his lottery numbers and realized he had won $500,000 from the Daily Grand Extra on Aug. 21.
“I then took it to the gas station and scanned it at the self-scanner,” the Abbotsford resident noted.
He first celebrated the life-changing win with his neighbour, who reportedly had some “choice words” because he was so shocked.
Hockridge, who says he also celebrated the win with an Iced Capp from Tim Hortons, said the win “opens up options” for his lifestyle.
Carla Martin’s big win didn’t come through a traditional lottery ticket, as she recently won Set for Life’s top prize of $675,000.
Also at home when the big moment came, the Mission woman scratched the ticket and couldn’t stop staring at it before asking her husband to double check it for her.
“My husband was so shocked and didn’t believe it,” she noted. “He counted the three icons and thought they must have changed the rules.”
Their shock turned to excitement once the win was confirmed and Martin is now planning a trip to Italy to visit her dad’s hometown, as well as buying “a few other indulgences” for herself and the family.
