Fifty-two friends will share the Aug. 5 single Maxmillions prize of $1 million, with each winner taking home $19 230.67.
The group began with about 40 friends four years ago and has expanded through friends of friends. Ashley Sieben claimed the prize on behalf of the 51 other group members.
A majority of the winners were from Saskatchewan with a few from Manitoba and one in Alberta. The friends all know each other and play whenever the jackpot reaches $50 million, with the decision to share the prize money evenly.
Seiben collects the money from the group through cash and etransfers and purchases the tickets.
“This will make everyone’s day!” Sieben remembered exclaiming. He contacted the other group members to share the news.
“Their reactions were the highlight of my day.”
He noted that there are many different plans for how each person will use the money, including trips, debt payments and maybe even a boat. He plans to use the money to pay bills and send his wife back to school.
“It was a once in a lifetime experience,” Sieben stated.
Seiben’s group will still continue to play. Today’s Oct. 14 jackpot is over $50 million and Sieben says he has already started asking his group to chip in, in hopes of finding their next million.
Seiben spoke at a formal cheque presentation Oct. 14 in Regina, with several other members of his group.