KAMLOOPS, B.C. - A struggling single father in Kamloops, B.C., has gone from tragedy to triumph with a $500,000 lottery win.
Forty-seven-year-old Richard Bankier won the money by matching all four numbers on the Extra in Wednesday's 6-49 draw.
His wife, Adele, died last Dec. 1 of complications from kidney failure, leaving Bankier the single father of a 10-year-old son with a mortgage to pay.
He calls his win bittersweet because while he can pay off the mortgage and feel financially secure, he can't share the windfall with his late wife.
Bankier, the safety co-ordinator with a Kamloops distribution company, says he bought the ticket hoping to win some money because gas prices are so high.
