A group of lucky rig workers are each carrying heavier wallets after cashing in on a $25-million Lotto Max jackpot.
The 15 CanElson Drilling co-workers – each taking home $1.6 million – accepted their winnings Friday at the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission headquarters in St. Albert’s Campbell Business Park.
Rig manager Keith Gould purchased the winning ticket from a Shoppers Drug Mart in Edson. He said he doesn’t normally check the tickets until the day after the draw, but decided to go online Friday night to compare numbers.
Gould said he looked at the numbers about a thousand times before calling over co-worker Dustin Gibson to take a look.
“He sat in the corner with his arms crossed, shaking, telling me to look at the laptop and read the numbers off to him,” Gibson said. “I went through the numbers and my heart blew out of my chest and I dropped to the ground – right down to my knees. I couldn’t believe it.”
When he called to tell his wife the news, she thought he was joking.
“She texted me an hour later and (asked) am I (kidding) her or not,” he said. “I don’t think she slept for the rest of the night. I know I sure didn’t.”
The group has played Lotto Max many times before, each chipping in a substantial amount of cash.
Even after winning big, the group vows to continue pooling their money in the hopes of landing another lottery jackpot.
Each crew member said they intend to take some time off work, although none said they are ready to retire from the company.
“It’s been a really good group of guys here and it seems to work,” Gould said.
He, like many of the winners, said he intends to pay off debt and enjoy Christmas with his family.
Tristan Hodge, who was the third worker to learn of the winnings, said he is planning a trip to Disneyland.
Gibson said he plans to invest some of his winnings, so it lasts as long as it can for himself, his wife and their two children.
One investment he said he plans to make is with his company, CanElson Drilling, which boasts a lucky-charm logo: a green four-leaf clover.
The crew came together roughly less than four months ago, although Gibson said he and Hodge, both from Jarvie, have known each other since childhood.
“We grew up through grade school together, same school, same junior high school, same high school, grew up a couple kilometres down the road from each other, graduated together,” he said.
The group won half the Nov. 2 Lotto Max jackpot, with the other $25-million portion claimed in British Columbia.
Winners
Keith Gould, Spruce Grove<br />Tyrone Genge, Spruce Grove<br />Clay Genge, Spruce Grove<br />Edwin Verkerk, Spruce Grove<br />Dustin Gibson, Jarvie<br />Tristan Hodge, Jarvie<br />Howard Myers, Stony Plain<br />Joshua Picard, Edmonton<br />Glen Barnett, Devon<br />Steven Howes, Calgary<br />Corey Caines, Leduc<br />Tyler Grant, Kelowna, British Columbia<br />Kyle Jones, Estevan, Saskatchewan<br />Clayton Genge, Anchor Point, Newfoundland<br />Brandon Myers, Bartletts Harbour, Newfoundland
