Two Calgarians now millionaires after winning separate lotteries
Two Calgarians are celebrating after each won a lottery, one of which was thanks to a happy accident.
Cheryl Hunter is $2.5 million richer after buying a ticket for the May 19 Lotto 6/49 draw, describing the win as “surreal.”
“It’s a funny story,” she said in a news release.
“I went to the store to buy a Lotto Max ticket, but the clerk pushed the Lotto 6/49 button by accident.
“He apologized for printing the wrong ticket but I told him I would take it anyway,” she continued. “It just goes to show that anything can happen.”
Hunter said she’s still having a hard time believing she’s a multimillionaire.
“When I first checked my ticket, I thought I had won $2,500,” Hunter said.
“Then I thought it was $250,000. I never thought I would win more than that — I’m still not sure I believe it!”
She will wait for the shock to wear off before making any big plans for her winnings.
“I think the bottom line is we just have more options now,” she said.
“We might travel more and all that but, overall, it just enables us to live a comfortable retirement and a more relaxed life.”
Hunter purchased the $4 quick pick Lotto 6/49 ticket at Thorncliffe Shell, at 5623 4th St. N.W. Her winning numbers were 14, 15, 28, 34, 38 and 44.
Mike Manhas is also celebrating, having won $1 million on the May 25 Lotto Max draw.
Manhas redeemed his free ticket at the 7-Eleven at 3963 52nd St. S.E. He used some spare change to pay $1 to add the Extra.
The day after the draw, he checked his ticket, scanning it with the WCLC Lottery Manager app on his phone.
“I must have checked it six or eight times. I couldn’t believe it!” he said. “Finally, I took it in to have a cashier check it for me.”
Manhas’s winning numbers were 2, 19, 27, 28, 31, 43 and 46. He said he has started to think about what he will do with his winnings, including buying a house.
“I never thought I would win the lottery,” he said. “I always hoped for it, but I never thought it would happen.”