Richmond man wins $58-million Gold Ball jackpot

A Richmond man is B.C.'s newest multimillionaire after winning a $58-million Gold Ball jackpot with a ticket purchased on a whim.

Hao Ping Chung, who has a Lotto Max subscription, bought the Lotto 6/49 ticket on the B.C. Lottery Corporation's online website on a whim, enticed by the large jackpot.

The purchase paid off at Wednesday night's draw, when Chung 's numbers matched the winning 10 digits — 1804153105 — for the jackpot, making him B.C.'s first winner of the Gold Ball jackpot prize since it was added to Lotto 6/49 in 2022.

The win is also the largest lottery prize awarded from a ticket purchased on PlayNow. com, said the lottery corporation.

“I was at home when I found out I won,” said Chung, who posed with his oversized cheque at BCLC's Vancouver offices last Friday. He said seeing the balance on his PlayNow.com account felt surreal.

“It didn't feel real! I tried to withdraw the funds to see if it was actually there.”

He wasn't the only one who was skeptical. When he shared the news with his parents, “they were surprised and asked if it was a scam,” Chung said.

Chung said he'll take some time to decide what's next for him, but plans to learn to play guitar and travel to warm, sunny destinations with nice beaches.

The Gold Ball Jackpot is a prize draw, separate from the classic draw, where players will win either a $1 million prize or a growing jackpot that starts at $10 million and grows by $2 million each time a gold ball isn't drawn.

The odds of winning a Gold Ball prize depends on the number of tickets sold.

This year, B.C. lottery players have redeemed more than $93 million playing Lotto 6/49, said the BCLC.