Panning for gold may be a hobby for Campbell River resident Markus Huber, but buying a LOTTO MAX ticket each week has paid off. Huber matched six of seven numbers plus the Extra to win $437,288.20 on the June 1st draw.
The 48-year-old marine mechanic was paying bills on Saturday morning when he discovered he was a winner. His wife, Cindy, was checking winning numbers online and noticed there was a big winner in Campbell River. “She called out to me ‘Markus it’s you! You’re the big winner!’ I didn’t believe her, so she kept repeating it to me.”
The winning ticket was purchased at Save On Foods and validated at Merville’s Store, both in Campbell River. “Cindy took a picture of the screen showing the big win amount and texted family with the photo,” he said. “Everyone was blown away!”
Huber says playing LOTTO MAX is a hobby, similar to his favorite pastimes of building various things and gold panning. It’s definitely a hobby he intends to keep: “I will still buy LOTTO MAX tickets…I already bought one yesterday for this Friday’s draw!”
Despite concerns from his boss that he might quit his job, the father of three says he intends to keep working. He says he’ll spend some of his winnings on a new car, gifts for his kids and a visit with overseas family, and save the rest for bills and retirement plans: “We’ll live a little better now.”
LOTTO MAX can be played at all lottery retail locations and online at PlayNow.com, with tickets available until 6 p.m. (PDT) on draw day (Friday). Winning numbers and group release forms can be found online at bclc.com.