"It was a good call to make," Donald Tkachuk said.
Donald made a once-in-a-lifetime phone call to his very good friend Roby Sharpe to tell him that they had won $1 Million on LOTTO 6/49!
Donald had just checked a stack of tickets at the Shoppers Drug Mart on 33-277 Broadway St. East in their hometown while running errands.
"I felt really good; there were a few $10 and $20 wins - it's my lucky week!" Donny explained, remembering checking the tickets. "Then the screen goes blue and the writing at the bottom says, 'Major Win'."
Donald and Roby's ticket had matched the Guaranteed Prize Draw winning selection for a $1 Million prize on the Wednesday, February 26th draw.
"The clerks behind the counter were really excited," Donald recalled.
After talking to Western Canada Lottery Corporation and leaving the excitement in the store, Donald called Roby. Roby thought Donald was joking about the win.
"He sounded kind of sad and serious," Roby recalled. Donald asked what Roby would do with his $500,000 share; Roby dismissed it as a lark.
"If there's one thing I don't joke about, it's money," Donald said.
After a few minutes of discussion on the phone didn't seem to convince Roby, Donald decided that maybe seeing would be believing. Roby and his wife greeted Donald when he arrived at their house.
"He was acting all cool, and I asked him, 'What are you doing here?' Then he showed me the ticket," Roby said.
Roby's wife took a look at the ticket and validation slip that Donald had brought along to show them.
"She said, 'Oh my God, you won $100,000?' I told her to look again," Donald remembered.
The long-time friends plan to use their share of the winnings to pay down some debt, help immediate family and Roby may fix up a family cabin.
