Lottery games in British Columbia are managed by British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) who operate the regions lottery games, casinos, sports and oversee the regions anti-money laundering efforts.
The Lotto Max is the most popular lottery game on offer by BCLC, having paid out more than $99 million in 2020. Lotto Max has started 2021 strong making nine new millionaires with payouts of more than $40 million in just under three months.
To put the popularity of Lotto Max in perspective the odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 33,294,800 yet there are enough lucky players that each week presents one or more lucky punters with a windfall.
Tammy Was Shellshocked
The March 19th draw was a special occasion for two reasons. First, the potential jackpot for the draw was the biggest one for the year coming in at a massive $13 million. Secondly, unlike other major draws where there have been multiple winning tickets this time, there was only a single ticket sold that carried the winning numbers: 2, 7, 8, 26, 30, 43, and 48.
A few days after the Lotto Max draw an unsuspecting McBride local, Tammy Manning, stopped by the local Husky corner store and checked her ticket at the self-help terminal. She was so overwhelmed at seeing that she had won the $13 million jackpot that she had Amber Bhaskar, the lottery retailer at the McBride Husky double check the payout.
Bhaskar remembers the moment fondly saying:
“When Tammy validated her ticket, Pushpinder [a cashier] had to go out and hold her as she was about to fall down. It was an exciting and life-changing moment for her.”
Manning is still struggling to come to terms with the fact that the massive jackpot win is real. The humble and personable winner kept repeating during a BCLC interview that “it’s hard to believe”, with good fortune turning $20 into $13 million anyone would find themselves not sure if there were dreaming or not.
Saving the Date with Fresh Ink
Manning is keeping a level head when it comes to her newfound wealth, stating that all she wants to do is pay off her home, help her loved ones and be able to retire with peace of mind.
She did however note that there is something a little unusual that she wants to do to commemorate this amazing moment in her life – get a tattoo.
She described the planned tattoo saying:
“My son is a tattoo artist so he will do it for me. It will be of a pineapple with a beach scene and the date underneath that I won $13 million.”
If you are wondering where the beach and pineapple come into play, Manning also has plans to buy a small vacation home in the Caribbean along with a sailboat for her and her partner, to allow them to take a long-overdue vacation.
