A Delta woman has come forward to claim a $12.5-million winning Lotto Max ticket.
Lisa-Marie Draganiuk, who purchased a winning ticket at a Shoppers Drug Mart in Delta for last Friday's draw, is one of four people who will share a $50 national jackpot.
The 33-year-old dental hygienist says the big win continues to feel surreal for herself and her husband.
"I was on my way home from work yesterday after getting groceries when I checked my ticket,” Draganiuk said. "My reaction was complete delirium! I called my husband right away in shock. People were crowding around me and they all knew I was a big winner."
Draganiuk's face lit up when asked who the first person, aside from her husband, she would share the news with.
"The first person I'm going to tell is my mom when I pick her up from work - from a job she never has to go back to," Draganiuk said. "She is a single mom and has done so much for me and I'm really looking forward to returning the favour."
Draganiuk says her family will soon be house hunting.
Last year, six Delta London Drugs co-workers playing the lottery together for over three years won a $1 million Maxmillion Lotto Max prize.
That ticket was purchased at the Shell gas station on Ladner Trunk Road.
The largest ever prizes won in B.C. were $50 million Lotto Max jackpots in October 2010 and March 2014.
That March 2014 prize came from a ticket purchased in Langley. but it took almost a year for someone, who reportedly insists on being anonymous, to step forward claiming to be the rightful ticket holder.
As far as winning with Lotto Max, the odds are indeed long as your chances of winning with a $5 ticket are one in 28,633,528.
It should also be noted that for each single row of Lotto Max numbers, there are actually more than 85 million possible combinations. That ends up being divided by three to arrive at 28.6 million, since you are given three lines to play.
If you somehow beat the incredible odds and have a winner, you have 52 weeks from the draw date printed on your ticket to claim the prize.
