A Saskatchewan woman has claimed the largest lottery jackpot in the province’s history.
Mary Wernicke won a whopping $60 million in the Aug. 12 Lotto Max draw. She officially accepted the prize during a cheque presentation Thursday in Regina.
The Neville, Sask. resident bought the winning ticket – bearing the numbers 5, 7, 15, 18, 19, 27 and 28 – at Pharmasave in Swift Current.
“I only had a $5 bill in my purse,” Wernicke said in a Saskatchewan Lotteries news release.
“I thought to myself, ‘if I’m meant to win, that’s all it’s going to take.'”
Wernicke didn’t know she had won until Aug. 17, when she woke up with a feeling that she ought to check her ticket.
“I felt different all morning,” she said. “They say if you have an itchy hand, it means money is coming your way. Well, both my hands were itchy.”
Wernicke says it will take some time for the win to sink in. She says she will take her time and not rush into any decisions.
“I have a lot of different things on my mind, so I’m going to sleep on it for a while,” she said.
Wernicke plans to share the windfall with her immediate family of more than 30, including her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
“It means everything to be able to help my family,” she said. “I’ve dreamed and prayed about that for a long time.”
Previously, the biggest lottery prize won in Saskatchewan was $40 million in 2011.