Charles Ritchot almost threw away nearly $179,000 because of a typo.
The Manitoba man realized he won the Grey Cup 50/50 jackpot on Nov. 29, when his ticket number – 551531 – matched the one announced during the game.
Instead of collecting the $178,748 prize, Ritchot decided to wait until the next day and surprise his wife. But when he checked the winning number on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ website, the last three digits were shown as 351 and did not match Ritchot’s ticket.
“So I said, ‘Oh darn, I was wrong,’” he told CTV Winnipeg.
He tossed the ticket in the garbage, but then reconsidered and fished it out.
“I went: You know, I’m going to keep this ticket,” Ritchot said. He decided to put it on his wall as a reminder that he’s “never going to get closer (to winning) so maybe just don’t ever buy tickets cause it’s just not going to happen.”
When he realized that no one else had claimed the prize, Ritchot called the Blue Bombers and was again told that his ticket didn’t match the winning number.
Still unconvinced, he checked the team’s website again on Tuesday and realized that the winning number was corrected – and it was a match.
Ritchot has collected his cheque and he plans to use the money toward retirement and remodelling his house.
With a report from CTV Winnipeg
