In the aftermath of Tuesday's losses for LGBT Americans, it's nice to see a story like this. Like most of us, Claude and Kurt Blanchette-Ebert have been going through some tough economic times. They were considering celebrating their 30th anniversary by buying themselves a used car. That was until Kurt returned to the convenience store where he bought his lottery ticket last Thursday to check the winning numbers.
The Vancouver Sun reports:
He rubbed his eyes and looked again: he had matched all seven winning numbers and won $50 million, the biggest lottery jackpot in B.C.’s history.
“The first thing I said was ‘holy sh--,’” Kurt, 63, said as he and Claude accepted their winning cheque from the B.C. Lottery Corp. on Tuesday.
He still didn’t believe it and had the ticket verified by Mac’s clerk Sunil Arora. When he got home, he was “beet red,” said Claude. “I thought he was going to have a stroke.”
The pair stashed the ticket away in a safe place and broke into hysterical laughter.
But it would be days before they claimed their winnings. On Sunday, Kurt returned to the convenience store, sneaking through the slew of reporters, to buy a firelog.
The next day, he quit his job as a pastry chef for a small bakery. When he told his boss, he said, the man “just fell on the ground and rolled around laughing. It was very entertaining.”
Claude also quit his job as a furniture upholsterer.
But what’s next for the newly retired couple remains a mystery. Kurt said while he has often daydreamed about becoming a millionaire, it’s different when you really have the money. As a result, the couple has no immediate plans to spend it.
“It still hasn’t sunk in,” Claude added. “We’re trying to absorb it and get it to the bank as quickly as possible.”
The pair, who don’t play the lotto regularly, said they hope to buy a house and live off the interest on their winnings.
For those of you keeping score at home, $50 million Canadian equals $50,160,000 US.
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