It’s been a winning year for lottery enthusiasts across British Columbia!
With an impressive $859 million in prizes paid out across the province, notably $112.3 million of that found its way into the hands of those who purchased tickets on Vancouver Island.
“Surprise, delight, awe, joy, excitement – these are all words that our lottery winners have used to describe how they felt winning, so as 2023 comes to a close, we’re excited to look back and celebrate all of the life-changing dreams that became realties for our lottery winners,” said Pat Davis, BCLC President and CEO.
Sidney resident, Scott Gurney, accounted for nearly half of that total sum after winning a staggering $55 million win in February. His win was the largest lottery win ever recorded on Vancouver Island.
The bookkeeper purchased his ticket at Save-On-Foods on Beacon Avenue.
In addition to those winnings, Lahsen Rezrazi and Debbie Ramsay from Victoria won $35 million, splitting a $70 million jackpot with a winning ticket holder in Ontario.
Another Sidney resident, Heather Andrews, won the $5 million Classic Jackpot alongside her sister from Ontario.
And Stacey and Raymond Donison from Victoria also won the $5-million Classic Jackpot.
In total, lottery players in British Columbia received over $859 million in prizes, with $112.3 million going to players who redeemed winning tickets purchased on Vancouver Island.
According to BCLC, 17.8 million winning tickets have been redeemed so far this year, with at least 13 grand prize-winning tickets redeemed, valued at $500,000 or more on Vancouver Island.
In 2022/23, BCLC delivered a record $1.6 billion in net income to the BC government, which distributed it in many ways to benefit British Columbians.
“Thanks to our players, BCLC is proud to generate revenue for provincial services and initiatives that we all rely on like healthcare, education and community programs,” said Davis.
