There’s a new national lottery game in the mix and that means new odds for players in B.C.
The Daily Grand debuts this week in Canada – with the potential for big payouts.
Here’s how it works: Five numbers are drawn between one and 49. Then, there’s a draw for a number between one and seven called the “Grand Number.” To win the top prize, a player must match all numbers on the card.
“They can either choose $1,000 a day for the rest of their life, or they can take the $7 million lump sum,” British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) spokesperson Jessica Gares said. “It’s really up to the player to choose what’s best for them.”
Let the debate begin…
“I’d take the seven million. It’s nineteen-plus years to get to the seven million. You’d be better off to have the money in your hand,” Jim Patterson, assistant manager of Hillside Lottery, said.
Age seems to be a determining factor.
“Oh, $7 million. I don’t have time to wait,” one player said.
“Because life doesn’t guarantee you that there will be a tomorrow,” another added.
The easier question is how to spend it. Fifty-four per cent of players surveyed by BCLC said they would travel. The same number said they’d make a charitable donation. On the other hand, 40 per cent said they would buy a house, 30 per cent said they would go for a home renovation and 25 per cent said they would purchase a vacation home.
But, for players, before that paycheque, comes the reality check. The odds of winning the top prize are one in more than 13 million.
That’s about the same as the probability of giving birth to identical quadruplets. But it is possible and, when the first draw takes place on Thursday night, that’s all that matters.
“Always hopeful,” player Brian Sutton said. “You buy a ticket, you buy hope.”
Daily Grand went on sale across the country, except for the Atlantic provinces on Oct. 18 and the first draw takes place Oct. 20.
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