Talk about a happy accident.
Shannon and Karsten Von Richter walked away with two novelty-sized cheques after matching all six numbers to win the Classic Jackpot from the Lotto 6/49 draw on Sept. 30, 2023.
Another ticket holder from Ontario did the same, which would typically mean a split-jackpot prize of $2.5 million for the Port Moody couple.
However, the jackpot was split three ways, because the Von Richters accidentally purchased two tickets with the exact same winning numbers.
Instead of winning $2.5 million, they won two prizes of $1.66 million, which equates to a total haul of $3.33 million.
“I didn’t realize I had already bought for that date,” recalled Shannon, who said they thought it was strange when the BCLC website said there were two major winners from Port Moody.
“At first, I thought it’s weird – what are the chances that two people in Port Moody won with the same numbers!”
She was at home with her daughter when she eventually realized that they were the lucky holders of both winning tickets.
When called with the life-changing news, Karsten said he “just didn’t believe it!”
The couple already had a celebratory dinner and they’re taking their time to determine their future plans with the windfall.
“This gives us more freedom and makes us more comfortable,” Karsten noted. “We will figure things out once it settles down a bit.”
The winning ticket was purchased at Thrifty Foods on Brew Street in Port Moody.
