Big winners get lotto cheque - finally!

BY SARA KEDDY

editor@berwickregister.ca

NovaNewsNow.com

Twenty-two 14 Wing Greenwood military members will be “doing the regular” with their cut of a recent $2.5 million lottery win.

“Bills, look at education, a new car,” says Ken Brown, a master corporal with 413 Squadron, the search and rescue unit.

The 22 people in the lotto pool have kept the Kingston/Greenwood area guessing since the Feb. 29 Lotto Super 7 draw. Rumours have been rampant: there was an alleged attempt to claim the winning ticket outside the pool; which store sold it; who was in the pool.... Who knew?

“There was a little bit of concern initially,” Brown said from the Atlantic Lotto offices in Moncton at 3 p.m. March 27.

The Kings County Register had actually called Brown March 17 on a lead that he was in the pool. At the time, he paused in his response and then denied the rumour.

However, “we were just waiting for some of the guys away traveling to get home, get everything signed, but everyone knew. They’re all ecstatic now, waiting for us to get done here and get back home.”

The winning ticket came from the lotto booth at the Greenwood Mall, which will be able to cash in on a one per cent seller’s take: $25,000.

“He’ll be happy, too,” Brown said.

The pool has operated for close to 10 years, with service members posted in and out throughout that time. Everyone pitches in to buy 22 tickets a draw, with one or two of the group responsible for the regular purchases. Brown says the pool has never won big like this before.

“You never expect to win, and then we had to figure it all out to claim it,” he said.

Robert Bourgeois of Atlantic Lotto said March 17 a group had come forward to claim the prize, but it hadn’t been paid out. “We’re completing our prize claim process,” he said at the time.

When asked if the reason behind a delay in the payout was related to the rumours, he said, “typically, we wouldn’t go back and comment on any kind of investigation into a ticket claim” after the money had been awarded.

Bourgeois said March 27, “we’re satisfied this is a group win; the members have provided us with the information we need.

“How they divide it, what they do with it is up to them. We’ve done our due diligence to make sure we got those signatures.”