Life as Usual for Lotto Winner
On August 3, Eddie Uy realised that he was the jackpot winner of the Lotto 6/49 Draw, a fact that won him $7 million. But, Uy did not do what most lottery winners do - he ate breakfast, packed his lunch and went to work. In fact, he waited three weeks until he contacted BC Lottery Corp to let them know that he had won the jackpot.
Plans to Continue Working until Retirement
59-year old Uy says that he has played the same numbers for 21 years and now they have paid off. But he claims that he won't retire until he is 65 or 67 and will continue going to work at the Burnaby cardboard-box factory, just as he has been doing for the last 19 years.
Uy claims he is a patient man and said that he plans to save most of the win for his retirement. He is single and lives with his brother and mother, although he did admit that he "might buy a bigger house."
Uy says that this is his year - he was born in the Year of the Rabbit in the Chinese calendar and "it just so happens that this is the Year of the Rabbit."
According to Uy, "Life is so simple." "If I retire now, what about my health? Maybe my health will go bad, or something like that. How would I be able to enjoy the seven million?"
Uy bought his winning ticket from the Chevron gas station at No. 2 Road and Westminster Highway in Richmond. His winning numbers - 6, 17, 21 28, 31, 38 - are the same numbers he has been playing since 1990 when he moved to Canada from China.
Also at the Lottery Corp headquarters were a group of 22 workmates from Rempel Bros. in Langley who shared a $3.3 million jackpot win in the Lotto 6/49 draw on August 24.
Wayne Vander-Hoek organised the syndicate. He said that "when I got a call telling me that our group had won, I didn't know whether to laugh or start crying." They bought their winning ticket at Red Apple Grocery on Marshal Road in Abbotsford. Each member of the syndicate walked away with a cheque for $149,000.
