A Red Deer man has won $1 million in the Western 6/49 lottery.
Gilbert Lafantasie had a “weird feeling” before he went to his computer to check the winning numbers for the Nov. 6 Western 649. His mood soon changed to thrilled when he realized he had matched all six winning numbers and was the $1-million winner.
He purchased the winning $5 Western 6/49 lottery ticket and a Lotto 6/49 ticket from the Short Stop Food Store at 4305 55 Avenue in Red Deer.
“I always check the Lotto 6/49 ticket first and I saw I had won $2, so I figured that must have been what the feeling was about,” Lafantasie said. “I checked the Western 6/49 next and when I saw all the numbers I checked and re-checked them.”
He thought the top prize was $250,000, but when he went to get the ticket validated at a store the clerk came back with a ticket with six zeros after the one then he realized he had won substantially more.
“I ran out of the store and straight to my friend’s place. We checked online again and then we celebrated,” Lafantasie said.
Lafantasie plans to help his mother buy a house — “someplace tropical perhaps.”
He plans to take a month or two off and is considering opening a martial arts school. “I’ve taught martial arts all over the world, so it would be nice to work wherever I buy a home,” he said.