SASKATOON - Orville Miner and Wendy Olson matched six of the seven winning numbers and the bonus number for the Oct. 7 Lotto Max draw, winning them $135,984.60.
But before they ever found out, they almost lost their ticket to an errant gust.
While driving with the window down, Miner moved the sun visor — where he stores his lottery tickets — and next thing he knew, the wind was blowing them out the window, spreading them around the ditch.
“I had to get out of the truck and look around the ditch to find them all!” Miner laughed as he recalled a panicky few minutes gathering up his lottery tickets.
Not willing to take any more chances by losing his tickets again, he decided to take them to a store and check them.
When Miner scanned his ticket using the self-checker he discovered that one of the tickets that had flown away was a big winner.
To double check what he was seeing, Miner handed his ticket to the cashier who confirmed the win; they matched six of the draw’s winning numbers - 7, 23, 28, 31, 32, 39, 40 – and the bonus number: 2.
“I was kind of dumbfounded at first, I didn’t know what to say,” Miner said while claiming his ticket.
Upon returning home, Miner told Olson to sit down, then showed her the winning ticket and the claim slip.
“He’s really into April Fool’s jokes so I didn’t believe him at first,” said Olson. “I only believed it when I saw the matching ticket number on the claim slip.”
The White Fox residents purchased their ticket from Fas Gas Walleye Service at 350 1st Ave. E in Nipawin the day before the draw.
The winners said that they plan to pay off a few things and enjoy life a little better. Miner is also looking forward to earlier retirement.
Check your tickets…
A $500,000 winning ticket purchased in Saskatoon and a $1 million winning ticket purchased in Saskatchewan, but not in Saskatoon or Regina, are still unclaimed from the Oct. 21 Lotto Max draw.
Sask Lotteries is the main fundraiser for more than 12,000 sport, culture and recreation groups in communities across Saskatchewan. Learn about games, jackpots, winning numbers and more at sasklotteries.ca
