Saskatoon jackpot winner hopes to share some of his $1.3M VLT winnings

(Courtesy: Western Canada Lottery Corporation)

A Saskatoon man won over $1.3 million playing the VLT at a local pub last Friday.

Daniel Bokshowan said while he was playing the machine at Tapps Sports Lounge and Grill in Saskatoon on March 27, he quipped to his server that he was going to win millions.

“I was kidding, but when I showed my ticket to her, we were both in shock,” he said in a news release from the Western Canada Lottery Corporation (WCLC) and Lotteries and Gaming Saskatchewan.

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Bokshowan said he was new to playing Vault Breaker — which links thousands of VLTs across the province with a progressive pot of potential winnings that starts at $500,000 and goes up until someone claims it.

“I chose a game that had the Vault Breaker option even though I had no idea about it, but knew [the prize] was high,” he remembered. “I got five symbols and thought, ‘This should be something good!’”

He was right. Bokshowan hit the grand jackpot — $1,368,380.52.

The Saskatoon man had a few days to think about what to do with the money before receiving his cheque this week, and he told the lottery spokesperson his first thoughts were on how he can use the windfall to support the people close to him.

He says he’ll likely share the money with his sister, and he is considering setting up a university fund for a family he met while working in Mongolia.

“I travelled the world with my job and met a family from Mongolia. They moved here. There are three kids in that family… I may help set up a university fund [for them].”

He did mention one potential purchase for himself.

“I might look into a new car,” he said.

The province-wide Vault Breaker jackpot has awarded over $61 million to 61 winners since June 2017.

WCLC is a non-profit organization authorized to operate lottery and gaming on behalf of the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and the three northern territories.