‘I thought he was joking’: B.C. couple wins $500,000 in Lotto Max draw

Extra winners Payal P. and Rahul S. are seen in an image from the B.C. Lottery Corporation.

A couple from B.C.’s Lower Mainland is planning a celebratory dinner after winning $500,000 on a Lotto Max ticket this month.

The two New Westminster residents—identified by lottery officials as Payal P. and Rahul S.—matched all four Extra numbers in the May 4 draw.

Rahul said he was on his way to pick up Payal when he learned about their big win.

“I didn’t believe it,” she said, in a quote shared by the B.C. Lottery Corporation. “I thought he was joking.”

The ticket was purchased at the Express News on New Westminster’s Belmont Street.

Apart from their dinner, the couple told the BCLC they don’t know how they plan to spend their winnings yet.

“I still don’t believe we won, it’s so surreal,” Rahul said.

The odds of matching all four Extra numbers are approximately one in 3.76 million, according to lottery officials.

The odds of winning the main Lotto Max jackpot—which requires matching all seven numbers, without using the bonus—are around one in 33.44 million.