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Car dealership staff hit jackpot
Friday, 8 August 2008 - 2:00pm
He was clutching a brew with his fellow revellers at an impulsive barbecue bash with burgers, champagne, and cake served up at the family-owned GM dealer in Sundridge, Ont., about 65 km south of North Bay.
Hummel is among 25 staff and family members who were in on a winning 6-49 lottery ticket and will share half of the $45-million jackpot—receiving just over $900,000 each.
The largest jackpot in Canada was a $54.3-million prize in October, 2005, which was won with a single winning ticket that was sold in western Canada.
The $45-million prize is the second-largest jackpot ever offered in Canada. The second winning ticket was purchased in Quebec.
“Generally, whenever the lottery will get high, I’ll go around and tap everybody for a toonie and head down and buy some Quick Picks and hope for the best,” Hummel said.
The draw was held Wednesday night, and Hummel was at work at 8:45 a.m. the next morning when he decided to scratch the itch and check the numbers.
“I just started to tremble,” he said, adding he double-checked the line of numbers with the business office manager before sharing the news.
“I just left my desk and slowly walked around, and I showed them the numbers on the ticket,” he said. “They were all quite stunned by it.”
Hummel figures he’ll finish a new house he started to build in Trout Creek while others are planning to buy new vehicles, build additions to their homes, or go on vacation.
But don’t expect new Lamborghinis around town.
“No, no. Solstice,” salesman Frank Hill said of GM’s Pontiac convertible.
“It’s hard to believe,” he added. “I’m sure now we can live a little more comfortably—student loans and take care of the kids. It’s just great.
“It’s great for the whole crowd because all of us get along and we all work well together,” Hill continued. “It’s a small-town business. Everybody says our lifestyle is not going to change, but it might for a couple of weeks.”
Some of the winners are expected to make the trip to Toronto next week to officially pick up their prize.
But it will be business as usual today, said dealership manager Peter Bray. “We gotta work tomorrow [Friday]. We’ve got customers,” he remarked.
Aside from the big winner, seven other lucky Ontario residents each won $220,055.
It wasn’t business as usual yesterday at Bray Motors Ltd.
“We decided to shut her down because nobody’s concentrating anyways,” said smiling salesman Clarence Hummel.
Hummel is among 25 staff and family members who were in on a winning 6-49 lottery ticket and will share half of the $45-million jackpot—receiving just over $900,000 each.
The largest jackpot in Canada was a $54.3-million prize in October, 2005, which was won with a single winning ticket that was sold in western Canada.
The $45-million prize is the second-largest jackpot ever offered in Canada. The second winning ticket was purchased in Quebec.
“Generally, whenever the lottery will get high, I’ll go around and tap everybody for a toonie and head down and buy some Quick Picks and hope for the best,” Hummel said.
The draw was held Wednesday night, and Hummel was at work at 8:45 a.m. the next morning when he decided to scratch the itch and check the numbers.
“I just started to tremble,” he said, adding he double-checked the line of numbers with the business office manager before sharing the news.
“I just left my desk and slowly walked around, and I showed them the numbers on the ticket,” he said. “They were all quite stunned by it.”
Hummel figures he’ll finish a new house he started to build in Trout Creek while others are planning to buy new vehicles, build additions to their homes, or go on vacation.
But don’t expect new Lamborghinis around town.
“No, no. Solstice,” salesman Frank Hill said of GM’s Pontiac convertible.
“It’s hard to believe,” he added. “I’m sure now we can live a little more comfortably—student loans and take care of the kids. It’s just great.
“It’s great for the whole crowd because all of us get along and we all work well together,” Hill continued. “It’s a small-town business. Everybody says our lifestyle is not going to change, but it might for a couple of weeks.”
Some of the winners are expected to make the trip to Toronto next week to officially pick up their prize.
But it will be business as usual today, said dealership manager Peter Bray. “We gotta work tomorrow [Friday]. We’ve got customers,” he remarked.
Aside from the big winner, seven other lucky Ontario residents each won $220,055.