West Kelowna man wins record Canucks draw

A lucky Vancouver Canucks fan, disappointed in the team’s loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, likely cheered up a bit after winning more than $700,000 in the 50/50 draw.

The jackpot hit more than $1.4 million, making it a new 50/50 draw record. The Canucks said it’s believed to be a new world record for the largest 50/50 raffle.

The winning ticket holder was Gordon Schimpf of West Kelowna. According to a Canucks news release, Schimpf bought the winning ticket online at Canucks. com/online5050 and gets a prize of $706,815.

The rest goes to Canucks For Kids, which helps children’s charities across B.C., including the Canucks Autism Network, Canuck Place Children’s Hospice and the B.C. Children’s Hospital Foundation.

“The biggest winners are the children and families from the Canucks Autism Network, Canuck Place Children’s Hospice and the B.C. Children’s Hospital Foundation,” Paolo Aquilini, president of the Canucks for Kids Fund, said in a statement.

Part of the reason for the record draw was that as of Nov. 20, people can now buy tickets online at canucks.com/online5050. Ascend Fundraising Solutions, the company that provides the system that runs the 50/50 sales, also donated $500,000 to the draw.

The previous record was the $1,014,555 raised at Rogers Arena during the Sedin twins’ final game.