Steve Woloshyn is not a regular lottery player. He only purchases them when the whim takes him, and rarely buys more than three or four in a year, so it was easy for him to forget he'd bought a ticket for the March 22, (Canada) Lotto 6/49 drawing.
Woloshyn finally noticed the tickets presence inside his wallet when he did a spot of shopping on Tuesday, April 22.
"I was taking out money to buy milk at a corner store and noticed the ticket was in my wallet," Woloshyn explained. "I had forgotten about it. So I check to validate it and discovered it was a winning ticket. At that moment, I was more in shock than anything. I couldn't believe it."
Woloshyn purchased his winning ticket when he stopped at a Chevron gas station in Hope while travelling home from Vancouver.
The fortunate number cruncher told lottery officials he may pay off his mortgage, but said he planned to leave the money in the bank until he and his wife could decide what to do next.
"A million dollars . . . it certainly enhances your life." he said. "I guess I was lucky that I didn't lose the ticket all that time it was in my wallet."
Canada Lotto 6/49 drawings are held on Saturdays and Wednesdays. The odds of winning a prize are 1 in 6.6. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 13,983,816.
