After much speculation, the winner of the $60 million Aug. 12 LottoMAX draw has been announced.
The winner is Mary Wernicke of Neville, Saskatchewan. She was revealed as the winner of the nationwide lottery draw at a news conference in Regina.
Wernicke was presented the $60 million cheque at the event, which was attended by Sask Lotteries officials as well as her son and daughter.
The province has been buzzing ever since it was confirmed that the winning ticket had been purchased somewhere in Saskatchewan.
There had been rumors online that the winning ticket might have even been sold in North Battleford and that there had been a local winner. That proved to be a hoax.
Instead, the winning $5 Quick Pick ticket had been bought at a PharmaSave store in Swift Current.
As it turned out, Wernicke did not check out her winning ticket for a few days, until August 17. She admitted at the news conference that on the morning that she went back to PharmaSave to get the winning ticket checked out, she had an inkling.
“I had very itchy hands. I had to get it checked out,” said Wernicke.
According to a news release from Saskatchewan Lotteries, Wernicke asked the store clerk to check it for her. The lottery terminal made a different sound than usual, and the clerk looked at the ticket and then looked at Wernicke and said "You’re the big winner!"
The $60 million is the largest jackpot ever claimed in Saskatchewan and Wernicke is the first million-dollar lottery winner from the village of Neville, located some 48km from Swift Current.
As for what Wernicke will to do with the winnings, she said she plans to “sleep on it” for the time being.
