Alberta man Brad Kelly scooped the Lotto 6/49 jackpot on Friday, June 25, 2014, and won the life-changing sum of CAD$ 18 million. He and his wife Amanda visited the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission office on July 29, 2014, to pick up their check and the lucky winner admitted he'd feared for a moment winning the jackpot may have been the end of him.
"I said to the clerk, 'I think something’s wrong with the machine,'" Brad said. "I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it out of there alive or not, I thought I was going to have a heart attack."
Veterinary technician Amanda took a calmer approach to winning the prize. She was at work when Brad rang to give her the good news and told him she was very busy.
"I had to try and stay aloof," Amanda explained. "You never know how you’re going to react."
Directional driller Brad bought the winning ticket from a 7-Eleven store while he was passing through Claresholm on his way home from a work. He still had long drive ahead of him, needed a soft drink, and bought the ticket while he was there.
"I just had a craving for a cherry Dr Pepper," Brad said.
Brad and Andrea have been married for five years and never had a honeymoon, so they intend to put that right in the near future, but neither one of them has any plans for giving up work entirely.
"I'm probably going to still have to do something, because I've always done something," Brad said.
"Yup!" Amanda agreed.
