A train conductor who lives in Surrey is B.C.’s latest lottery winner.
Nelson Botelho matched all five numbers in the Oct. 21 Daily Grand draw to win the secondary prize of $25,000 a year for life. He opted for the lump sum payment of $500,000.
He won’t be quitting his job.
“I get to spend my day working with trains, doing what I love,” Botelho said in a BCLC news release.
“Winning a half million dollars certainly makes it easier to pursue ‘Freedom 55’, though.”
Botelho says it took a few days after the draw to realize he had a winning ticket in his wallet.
“It was in my wallet for four days,” he explained. “I only remembered to check my ticket on the BCLC Lotto! App just before I went to bed. Needless to say, I didn’t sleep for the rest of the night.”
Botelho said he’ll use the prize money to help pay off his mortgage and leave enough for a trip to Portugal with his family. “I’ve always dreamed of being able to take my kids to the town that my parents grew up in.”
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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