Moose Jaw couple newest Saskatchewan millionaires

A trip to the Co-op last week has made an elderly Moose Jaw couple Saskatchewan’s newest millionaires.

Gene and Irene Rudeen were presented with an over sized cheque for $1 million from Saskatchewan Roughrider slotback and Saskatchewan lotteries volunteer vice-president Jason Clermont on Wednesday afternoon at Hotel Saskatchewan.

Gene and Irene purchased a Lotto Max ticket with the numbers 6, 7, 10, 17, 24, 33 and 45 on it. The combination matched the numbers on one of the MaxMillions prizes from the Aug. 6 draw.

"The girl told me I was a winner and I thought it was only a hundred or a couple hundred dollars, but she said there was a lot of zeros," Gene said about the winning ticket. "I started counting them and there was six of them."

Gene said that Irene didn’t believe him when he first told her that they had won $1 million.

"I tried not to get too excited because I’d have a heart attack," a chuckling Gene said.

Gene said he would like to buy a new car with the winnings and Irene added that she and Gene will "eventually" share the money with their family. She also sarcastically said she will hang the cheque on the wall of their home.

Gene and Irene have been married for nearly 56 years and have two children, four grandchildren and one great grandson.

The Rudeen’s win comes less than two months after Clarence and Delores Durocher of IIe-a-la-Crosse won $25 million on a Lotto Max ticket – Saskatchewan’s biggest lottery win. The previous mark was set by a $23.9 million Super 7 prize won by Jean Kanning of Beechy last September.

"It has been an outstanding year for jackpots in Saskatchewan, there is no doubt about that," said Andrea Marantz, director of corporate affairs and communication for the Western Canada Lottery Corporation.

Craig and Lorna MacDonald of Carrot River won a cool $20 million from a Lotto Max ticket purchase in January, as did Claude and Dianne Gyug of Melville.

Lotto Max has been the primary source for creating overnight millionaires in Saskatchewan since it replaced Lotto Super 7 last September.

"Lotto Max has been creating a lot more wins because there has been a lot more MaxMillions, which is an aspect that appeals to more people," Marantz said.

Gene and Irene join Lynn Petit from Buffalo Narrows and Matt and Pat Olson from Tisdale as Saskatchewan’s only MaxMillions winners.