Canada Couple Keep $50m Lotto Max Secret
An Edmonton couple didn't let a $50 million lottery win go to their head and took several months to wrap their head around the news of their good fortune before going public.
Andrea and Bill Groner have known for seven whole months that they were the winners of a $50 million Lotto Max jackpot draw, but they decided that they'd only spread the word of their good fortune after getting all their "ducks in a row".
Two days after the December 20 draw, Andrea Groner checked her Lotto Max ticket at a self-serve scanner in her local mall and couldn't believe her eyes.
"I saw the amount on the screen. I didn't have my glasses on, but I saw a lot of numbers," she said. "I asked the store clerk to look, too. She asked how much I thought I'd won. I said, 'I won the lottery?"
Keeping a Canada Lottery Secret
Groner's head started working right away and she didn't even call her husband from the mall to share the good news, waiting until he got home to tell him how his luck had suddenly improved in an instant.
The couple then decided to keep to their normal lives until they felt that they were ready to make a change on their own terms.
"A lot of people think they'd quit their job as soon as they found out," said Groner. "But you have friendships and relationships with the people you work with and it's hard to just cut those ties. You don't want to leave people in the lurch."
Plans for $50m Lotto Max Win
The Groners have had a long time to think about what they will do with their $50 million, and say that they have "some ideas".
These include helping family, friends and their favorite charities.
"We'll take it one day at a time," said Bill who joined his wife to finally pick up the magic cheque at the Western Canada Lottery office this week.
