It took a few years of supporting the STARS lottery, but it was worth it for Phillip Gow.
The Bowden man learned Thursday after the winning numbers were drawn that he had won $1.5 million in the 2016 Lucky STARS 50/50 draw.
Gow said he has been supporting STARS for more than 25 years.
Several other Central Albertans also found out they won major prizes in the lottery draw, although none of the four houses up for grabs went to anyone local.
Shirley Merry of Red Deer won a 2016 BMW 328x1 and Brett Siford of Red Deer won a 2016 Toyota Tundra SR5 Crewmax.
Roy Hecht of Lacombe won $100,000 in the early bird draw.
The five grand prize winners were:
l David Woods of Calgary who won the Calgary show home worth $1.4 million;
l Ed and Marlene Grinnell of Lethbridge won the Edmonton show home worth $975,000;
l Peter and Olive Huvenaars of Taber won the Sylvan Lake show home worth $945,000;
l Jamie Edmondson of Calgary won the Lethbridge show home worth $825,000;
l Norm and Carolyn Bonnett of Lethbridge won the home away from home truck and trailer package worth $141,503
The complete list of winners will be posted Monday on the STARS website, which is starslotteryalberta.ca
The lottery raised more than $11.5 million net for the non-profit, with 3,200 prizes worth more than $5.6 million.
It is STARS’ main source of funding in Alberta, and while it was touch and go this year because of trying economic times, the lottery again sold out.
STARS provides specialized emergency medical care and transportation for critically ill and injured patients. STARS has bases in Calgary, Edmonton, Grande Prairie, Regina, Saskatoon and Winnipeg.