New Year’s Day sees a lot of people think about their plans for the future, and doing that was likely much easier for an Edmonton man who won a whopping $1-million prize from a scratch lottery ticket on Jan. 1.
“Honestly, I let out a bit of (a) squeal in the moment,” Bryan Strong is quoted as saying in a news release issued about the win by the Western Canada Lottery Corp. on Friday.
Strong’s purchase of a “$100 ULTIMATE scratch ticket” on the first day of 2024 led to a pleasant surprise when he scratched it “right in the store” at a lottery kiosk in Edmonton’s Southgate Shopping Centre.
He said he immediately scanned the barcode.
“I had to scan it a few times to make sure I was counting all of the zeroes,” Strong said.
“I was shocked.”
He said he quickly left and went home to put the ticket in a safe place. When he got home, he spoke to a friend who asked a question as soon as the news was shared with them.
“‘How may horseshoes do you have up your (behind)?'” Strong recalled.
Strong said he celebrated his win with a trip to Las Vegas where he splurged on a few things, including an expensive steak dinner.
“It was fun, but now I want to be smart with the money,” he said. “I’m going to put some away in TFSAs and RRSPs.
“I know a million bucks doesn’t go as far as it used to, and I want to be sure that it lasts.”