‘It didn’t feel real’
Lotto Max MaxMillions, Smoke Signals jackpot winners introduced in Saskatoon
It was likely the best last-minute purchase Clint Kennedy will ever make.
Stopping in at Rosetown’s 7-11 convenience store last Friday, he stepped up to the till at 8:24 p.m. — a mere six minutes before the cutoff time for last week’s $60-million Lotto Max draw. When he checked the winning numbers the next day, he couldn’t believe his eyes: Kennedy was the province’s newest millionaire.
He won $1 million in the Lotto Max MaxMillions draw, matching all seven numbers — 1, 11, 14, 20, 22, 30 and 34 — to claim the prize.
“It didn’t feel real,” said Kennedy, who was introduced to the media on Friday in Saskatoon.
He said he was most excited about the prospect of being debtfree, paying off bills and the family home, and putting away savings for retirement and education. He was also planning to splurge at least a little bit.
“My fishing boat is going to get an upgrade,” the Rosetown resident said.
Things won’t change all that much, though. A husband and father of two, Kennedy said he’s already “living the dream ... We just get to live a little more comfortably now.”
Marlon Weekusk, meanwhile, almost walked away from the largest jackpot in Dakota Dunes Casino history.
The welder from Onion Lake was playing the Smoke Signals progressive on Wednesday at the casino on Whitecap Dakota First Nation near Saskatoon. Winning some and losing some, he switched machines. Suddenly, the machine he was playing stopped working — so Weekusk got up to try his luck elsewhere.
In the ensuing moments, as he was walking away from the machine, he heard chatter and growing excitement over a jackpot winner. Someone stopped him and asked if he was the one who had been playing. Just like that, and to his complete and utter shock, Weekusk was $1,822,621.97 richer.
“I was just in disbelief,” he said Friday with a grin. “I still can’t believe it.”
Including the win by Weekusk, the Smoke Signals jackpot — which links 52 slot machines from all six of the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority casinos — has paid out just under $13.3 million. The jackpot has now been reset to its minimum value of $1 million.
“You can feel the excitement growing among the local community and casino staff as the jackpot increases because it is going to pay out before it hits $2 million,” said Dakota Dunes general manager Gary Daniels.
Weekusk said he plans to buy a home, travel and help his parents with his winnings.
“It’s great to be part of these lifechanging events,” Daniels said.