A couple from Lake Cowichan are thanking their lucky stars after playing Lotto Max, saying “yes” to the Extra, and winning $500,000.
Michele Zaharia and Mark Langton matched all four Extra numbers in the Lotto Max draw on Dec. 31, giving them several more reasons to celebrate when they say “yes” to each other at their upcoming summer wedding.
Zaharia, who purchased the ticket at the Duncan Walmart, was getting a new phone when she decided to check her ticket results on the BCLC Lotto! App.
“My volume was turned off and [Mark and I] checked it three or four times,” said Zaharia, who took a screen capture of the winning-ticket message for a keepsake.
“Shock is the best way to describe it.”
Langton had to travel for work shortly after the draw, so the couple have had some time to digest their big win.
At the top of their bucket list items are paying down the mortgage, buying a wedding dress and perhaps retiring a few years earlier than expected.
“It’s an incredible feeling,” Langton said. “You don’t believe what you’re seeing is real.”
“But, it’s getting more real every minute,” Zaharia added from BCLC’s Vancouver prize-claim office.
Lotto Max is a nationwide lottery game drawn on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Players can purchase tickets at any lottery retailer, or at PlayNow.com.
