There seems to be lots of luck around these parts, as another Vancouver Islander has just won the lottery.
Jerry Dyck was in for the surprise of a lifetime on January 9th.
It’ll be a day he’ll remember forever, not only because it’s his birthday, but also because it’s the day he walked home $2 million dollars richer.
The Victoria native and retired electrician says he purchased the winning ticket at a convenience store in Duncan. He was in the area looking after some property for his friend.
“I bought it on the 7th,” Dyck says. “I noticed BC/49 was on my birthday, so I thought, ‘why not?’ Sure enough, I scanned it the day after my birthday and went into shock. Still am.”
According to Dyck, there’s a feeling of bewilderment that comes with winning such a huge chunk of change.
“It shows that anybody can win it, anywhere. They say it can happen to you, and sure enough, it did.”
Dyck was at his daughter’s house in Victoria when he scanned his winning ticket with the PlayNow.com app. At first, he thought he won $2,000.
“I was pretty stoked,” he says.
“Then I go, ‘just wait a minute, there’s another comma there.’ So my daughter scanned it and the next thing you know, we were bouncing around the living room. It still doesn’t really seem real, I’ve been buying them for years.”
When it comes to spending the money, Dyck plans on paying off all his debts, his children’s debts, and his daughter’s student loans. He’s also a little tired of driving around in his old SUV, so he says he’s “definitely going to upgrade that.”
Dyck’s now been added to a long list of lotto winners in B.C. On January 15th, an electrician from Union Bay won $500,000. And, a few weeks prior, a Courtenay teacher rang in the New Year with an extra $500,000 in her bank account.
