By Medicine Hat News on January 8, 2020.
Last night, Lotto Max drew a record $70 million, with Hatters lining up at convenience stores to get in on the action. Patricia Roller says she doesn’t often buy lottery tickets, but did Tuesday for the big draw. “I don’t feel very lucky,” she said. Roller said if she won she’d “definitely buy a condo somewhere warm,” like Hawaii or the Caribbean, give some of the money to family and friends, and then invest what remains. Evelyn Cheney likes to buy lottery tickets every now and then, but doesn’t consider herself an enthusiast. “This is the first time I’ve bought one since before Christmas,” said Cheney. “My husband said to stop and buy one on the way home, so here I am.” In the event of a win, she said she’d give much of the earnings to her two kids, four grandkids and one great-grandchild. She’d like to use the remaining money to travel to “some place warm.” “I’d like to go on a cruise,” Cheney said. “That’s been on the bucket list for years.” Gordon Krell says he has “no idea” what he’d do with all that money. He said he’d probably give much of it to family – “nephews, nieces, uncles aunts, you name it.” For himself, Krell would like to buy two vehicles – “one for the summer, one for the winter.” Brad Maser said he’s “looking to hit the big one, so I can give everybody a bunch of money.” “I’d probably keep about half for myself and do a lot of travelling, maybe buy homes all over the place,” Maser said. “I like to do a lot of fishing trips, so maybe the West Coast, South America – somewhere like that.” Jim Douglas estimates he buys lotto tickets about 30 per cent of the time, which appeals to him for the “dream of winning.” He says he would only want a fraction of the winnings, enough to ease into retirement. “I’d keep $1 million for myself and give the rest away, mostly to my family,” said Douglas. 19