Neal Bilodeau has a routine with lottery tickets. Buy them, check them, toss the losers.
He checked his first ticket from the Aug. 12 Lotto 6/49 draw, and it went in the garbage. The second one was worth $100,000.
The Sexsmith man won on the EXTRA, the optional $1 game he plays with his Lotto 6/49 tickets. He didn’t match the main 6/49 numbers. He matched six digits of his EXTRA number, in order.
He bought the ticket at Trader Ridge Gas Bar, 13202 102 Street in Grande Prairie, according to the Western Canada Lottery Corporation (WCLC).
One ticket went in the garbage. The next was worth $100,000.
Bilodeau buys a Lotto 6/49 Super Pack twice a week. Checking them is usually quick and uneventful.
“I checked the first ticket, and it went into the garbage can,” he told WCLC, laughing. “I checked the next one and saw $100,000, so I put it to the side and checked the rest of my tickets.”
He didn’t stop to celebrate. He set the winner aside and checked the rest of his tickets first.
Then he went back to it.
“I had to double-check the second ticket to make sure it was still a winner,” he said.
He still wasn’t sure when he took it to the store.
“Is this for real?” he asked. “The machine had better not be lying!”
The machine wasn’t lying.
First on the list: the truck
Bilodeau isn’t planning anything flashy.
“I’m going to pay off my truck!” he said.
After that, he’s thinking about Thailand.
“I went to Thailand for a month in the past and might do that again, but for longer this time,” he said.
He says the win still hasn’t fully registered.
“It hasn’t all sunk in yet, but it’s great. It’s awesome!”
Does he pay tax on $100,000?
No. In Canada, lottery winnings aren’t taxed.
The federal government says no taxes or fees of any kind are paid on lottery or sweepstakes winnings in Canada. So he doesn’t pay income tax on the $100,000, and he doesn’t report it as income.
What the money earns later is a different matter. If part of it goes into a savings account or investments, that interest or investment income is reported like any other.
The prize itself, though, is his to keep in full. That covers the truck loan, with money left for Thailand.
How rare is a $100,000 EXTRA win?
Every EXTRA number has seven digits. You win by matching the drawn digits in order, starting from the right. The more digits you match, the bigger the prize.
Bilodeau matched the last six. WCLC puts the odds of that at about 1 in 1.2 million per $1 play.
| Match | Prize | Approx. odds |
|---|---|---|
| All 7 digits | $250,000 | 1 in 6,000,000 |
| Last 6 digits | $100,000 | 1 in 1,200,000 |
| Last 5 digits | $1,000 | 1 in 111,111 |
| Last 4 digits | $100 | 1 in 11,111 |
| Last 3 digits | $50 | 1 in 1,111 |
| Last 2 digits | $10 | 1 in 111 |
| Last digit | $2 | 1 in 11 |
About 1 in 10 EXTRA plays wins something, though usually just a few dollars. WCLC also says picking your own numbers doesn’t improve your odds.
Check the EXTRA before you throw a ticket away
One Lotto 6/49 ticket can win three different ways: the main draw, the Gold Ball draw, and the EXTRA. If you only check the main numbers, you can miss a win on the others. So check the whole ticket.
Scan it. Any lottery retailer can check your ticket. You can also scan the barcode yourself with WCLC’s Lotto Spot! app, which also has winning numbers and retailer locations.
Sign it. WCLC says to write your name on a ticket as soon as you buy it. Retailers can’t check an unsigned ticket. Don’t make other marks on it, either. The AGLC says extra marks need a written explanation, can lead to an investigation and can hold up your payment.
Check before you leave the store. WCLC says to check your ticket before you walk away from the counter.
Watch for a frozen terminal. On a win of $10,000 or more, the store’s lottery terminal freezes and shows claim instructions. You register the win with WCLC right there. For help with a claim, call WCLC Player Care at 1-800-665-3313.
How Grande Prairie-area winners claim a big prize
A big win can’t be cashed at the counter. Alberta has two prize payout offices, run by the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC): one in St. Albert and one in Calgary. From Grande Prairie, St. Albert is the closer one, but it’s still a long drive.
The AGLC says to come ready:
Two pieces of government-issued ID, each with a recent photo, your date of birth and your signature.
Your name, address and phone number printed on the back of the ticket.
Time. WCLC checks every claim before paying, and that can take more than a business day. You need to stay at the office while your claim is processed. If you show up late in the day, you may not get paid that day. Mondays, and Tuesdays after a long weekend, are usually the busiest.
Prizes are paid by cheque. Only wins over $25 million are paid by wire transfer.
There’s also a deadline. For draw games like Lotto 6/49, you have one year from the draw date printed on the ticket to claim. After that, the ticket is worthless. The AGLC says WCLC “will not honour prizes on expired tickets.”
So if you have Lotto 6/49 tickets sitting in a drawer, a wallet or a truck console, check the dates.
Winning ticket sold in Grande Prairie
Bilodeau bought his winning ticket at Trader Ridge Gas Bar on 102 Street in Grande Prairie, about 20 km south of Sexsmith.
First, he’ll pay off the truck. A longer trip back to Thailand may come after that.
Sources
Western Canada Lottery Corporation: Sexsmith Local Wins $100,000 EXTRA Surprise!
Western Canada Lottery Corporation: EXTRA
Western Canada Lottery Corporation: Buying and Checking Tickets
Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis: What to expect when making a prize claim
Government of Canada: Winning doesn’t cost you
Comments
Conversation