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Lucky Gibsons man wins $1.3-million PNE Prize Home

Luck turned Gibsons resident Dean Cockerill’s way Thursday evening when his winning ticket worth nearly $1.3 million was drawn for the PNE Prize Home. He’s been buying tickets for years, his wife, Dianne, said.
prize home
The 2013 PNE Prize Home, featuring classical architecture and state-of-the-art fixtures and appliances, will be relocated to the Sun Peaks ski resort in the Interior.

Luck turned Gibsons resident Dean Cockerill’s way Thursday evening when his winning ticket worth nearly $1.3 million was drawn for the PNE Prize Home.

He’s been buying tickets for years, his wife, Dianne, said.

“I jumped up and down like a spring board, said Dianne, 65, who learned about the win before her husband.

“Then you calm down and say, ‘Did that really happen?’

“It’s surreal.”

Dean, 49, was visiting his parents in Manitoba and was initially unavailable on his cellphone.

When the pair later talked, Dianne said that her husband pretended to be nonchalant about the prize win, but then said to her she didn’t have to worry any more because she was a millionaire.

Dean works in the pulp mill near Gibsons and Dianne is a dental assistant. She said they hadn’t talked seriously about what they would do with the home at Sun Peaks Resort near Kamloops in the Interior: Keep it or sell it.

She noted neither of them are skiers, but that Dean loves the outdoors, including fishing, hunting and camping.

The winning ticket was drawn by Love it or List It Vancouver star Jillian Harris at 6:40 p.m. at the PNE Prize Home at Hastings Park.

“Each year British Columbians look forward to this historic tradition and this year’s lucky winner is sure to enjoy his spectacular retreat at Sun Peaks Resort,” PNE president and CEO Mike McDaniel said in a news release.

A total of 105,909 ticket sheets were purchased.

Earlier Thursday, other prizes were awarded, including 12 vehicles, five all-inclusive vacations and two Rocky Mountaineer trips.