Jarnail and Manjinder Khatra are the latest Lotto 6/49 prize winners in Surrey.
The couple scored $1 million in the Feb. 26 draw after buying the winning lottery ticket from the Real Canadian Superstore on 104 Avenue, in Guildford.
More than a month later, Jarnail popped into a gas station on his way home from work to check the ticket that he and his wife purchased together.
“I checked the ticket on March 29, and I saw a million dollars and didn’t believe it,” Jarnail said in a BCLC news release.
“I went home and looked on bclc.com and matched all of the numbers twice to make sure.”
Manjinder was the first person to hear the news.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Manjinder said. “I brought him to Canada in the ’90s and he thanked me for it the day he found out and I wasn’t sure why he was saying that… then he told me we won the money!”
For now, the couple don’t have any firm plans for their lotto winnings.
“I feel very happy. It will change our lives,” Jarnail said.
“We can’t believe this win,” Manjinder added.
In 2021, B.C. lottery players redeemed more than $99 million in winnings from Lotto 6/49.
On Tuesday (April 12), a Surrey bus driver said he’s planning an early retirement after winning $18.7 million in the April 6 Lotto 6/49 draw. Nang (Paul) Trinh was hosting a family dinner when he decided to check his ticket, according to a release from the B.C. Lottery Corporation.
During a cheque presentation, Trinh said he didn’t check his ticket until the day after the draw. He said he “checked my phone once, twice” and on multiple phones just to be sure.
– with file from Lauren Collins