Choo-choo cha-ching! Surrey train conductor wins B.C.'s Daily Grand Prize
Credit to Author: Tiffany Crawford| Date: Thu, 31 Oct 2019 17:14:23 +0000
A train conductor from Surrey is on track to pay off his mortgage after winning after a million dollars in B.C.’s Daily Grand Prize lottery.
The B.C. Lottery Corp. says Nelson Botelho, who is a conductor with Southern Railway, chose the lump sum of $500,000 instead of the $25,000 a year for life.
Botelho won after matching all five numbers in the Oct. 21 Daily Grand draw.
He’s looking forward to a trip and paying for his house but he has no plans to give up his job.
“I get to spend my day working with trains, doing what I love,” said Botelho, in a statement released by BCLC.
“Winning a half million dollars certainly makes it easier to pursue Freedom 55, though.”
Botelho told the BCLC that 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. 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 says the $500,000 prize will 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.”
He was not available for an interview Thursday.
ticrawford@postmedia.com