$50M lotto win kept secret for 7 months by Edmonton couple
For seven months, a $50-million lottery prize has gone unclaimed. Now, an Edmonton couple have finally come forward to claim the lottery prize — although they say they’ve known the whole time that they were holding the winning ticket.
“We had to maintain a normal lifestyle until we got all our ducks in the row. We had to take care of things in our own lives,” said Andrea Groner, 47, who shares the jackpot with her husband, Bill.
She says the couple realized they had won days after the lucky numbers were announced in December. They held off claiming the ticket, keeping it secret from friends and family, until they were ready. She says they even watched news stories about the unclaimed prize.
"We were actually sitting at home, watching — we'd see it on the stuff on TV and say, 'We're right here.'"
Groner wouldn’t say what kind of arrangements they made before claiming the prize.
The couple have been married for 25 years but say they were never able to take a honeymoon. They are planning to rectify that with their winnings.
The Western Canada Lottery Corporation says the $50-million win is the largest ever in Edmonton, and the second largest jackpot awarded in Alberta.
