Rod Bitten has been hard at work with home renovations, which is partly why he recently signed up for a PlayNow.com account so he wouldn’t miss a draw with a lottery subscription.
It’s a decision that led Bitten to win an ‘Extra’ $500,000 in the Lotto Max draw on Jan. 15.
“I usually buy them at a retailer,” said Bitten. “But we’ve been doing renovations on the house and so it’s possible without the subscription that I never would have bought a ticket for that day.”
The day after the draw, Bitten received a notification e-mail from PlayNow that he had won a prize, but didn’t find out until later in the evening just how much it was.
“I was sitting down for dinner and thought I’d check. When I saw my account balance had $500,000 extra in it, I couldn’t believe it. My wife was there with me and said she wasn’t going to believe it until I phoned BCLC.”
Once it was confirmed, Bitten says he and his wife started hugging and crying.
“We were just so overwhelmed with joy. The first thing we said was that we would no longer have to worry about our mortgage,” said Bitten. “$500,000 is an absolute game-changer, and for us to say we own our home now… It’s just amazing.”
The Comox Valley has been lucky with the lotteries in recent weeks. Bitten is the second Extra grand prize winner in the area within a month.
On Boxing Day, Courtenay teacher Rebecca MacKenzie won $500,000 for matching all four Extra numbers in that day’s Lotto 6/49 draw.
