Auto supply store co-workers in St. John's split $1M jackpot
It took 10 years, but the office lottery pool at Browne's Auto Supplies in St. John's finally hit the jackpot.
Sixteen people from three locations in the city will split a $1-million prize from the Sept. 28 Lotto Max draw.
"When I went to check the tickets, the lovely young lady behind the counter said, 'I can't help you with this one,' and laid the other slip on top of it," said Gail Lidstone, a trustee for the JB Group of 16 office lottery pool who checked the tickets, according to a press release from the Atlantic Lottery Corporation.
"I went, 'That can't be right.' But, as shaky as I was, I took a picture of it and sent it to [the other trustee] and said 'I'm not kidding.'"
$62,500 per person
Sixteen shares of $1 million works out to $62,500 per person. The winners were revealed Wednesday afternoon.
"None of us here are rich. We're all working and we all have bills," said Elaine Anthony, the group's other trustee. "Some of the guys that I called to say we won … have young families and mortgages. This was totally awesome. It was nice being able to deliver the news."
A.J. Evans — at 22, the youngest member of the group — says he plans to buy a car and make some investments.
"The best part is putting money away for my future and being able to pay off a lot of things, set myself up for the rest of my life," he said in the release.
Steve Finn was hunting moose with his father and brother when he got the call.
"I was grinning from ear to ear and told [my father and brother] I had some more good news," he said in the release. "They were just in complete shock. We were all just over the moon. It was an amazing moment."
The group usually collects money for the pool once a month and buys one ticket per draw for the entire month.
The winning ticket was sold at Sobey's on Kelsey Drive in St. John's, which will get a one per cent seller's prize.
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