B.C. man feels 'overwhelming amount of joy' after $500K lottery win

Lottery winner Michael Strauch is seen in a photo posted to the BCLC's website.

A Salmon Arm, B.C., resident is now $500,000 richer after matching four out of four Extra numbers on a recent Lotto Max ticket.

Michael Strauch bought the ticket at Matchbox Smoke and Vape Shop in Salmon Arm, and the cashier told him he had won big.

“The retailer said, ‘You are a winner! You just won $500,000.’ I was freaking out and said, ‘Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, this is a dream,” Strauch recalled in a Thursday media release from the B.C. Lottery Corporation.

He said other customers in the store congratulated him on the prize. “We were happy together in that moment,” he said. “It was really beautiful.”

When Strauch shared the news with his partner, he remembers, “We cried together, and she felt so much joy for me and for our future.”

He plans to use his winnings to buy a home and save for retirement.

“This win gives me the ability to slow down if I want to. Every day is a celebration now. We can relax and buy a home and that brings an overwhelming amount of joy and gratitude into our lives,” Strauch said.

According to the BCLC, lottery players in the province have redeemed more than $15 million in winnings from the Extra and over $46 million from Lotto Max so far in 2024.

The odds of winning the $500,000 top prize on the Extra are one in 3,764,376.