B.C. winners of $8M Lotto 6/49 prize identified as uncle-nephew duo

The winners of last week's $8 million Lotto 6/49 jackpot have been identified as an uncle-nephew duo from B.C.'s Fraser Valley who only recently started buying tickets together.

John and Travis Bonner visited the B.C. Lottery Corporation's Vancouver office Tuesday to collect their oversized cheque and share the story of their life-changing win.

John told reporters he’s been playing the lottery for “quite some time,” but that his nephew recently convinced him to start splitting the cost of tickets. They had only been playing together for three weeks when they matched all six numbers in the March 9 Lotto 6/49 draw, winning them a cool $8,068,948.

"When I read the numbers, at first I didn't believe it – but then it sunk in," said John, who lives in Chilliwack and purchased the ticket at the local Unsworth Market.

"The first person to find out was my little brother. He calls up and says, 'I won $11,000 at the casino last night.' I said, I think I can do you one better."

Travis was working at the time, and said he could barely process the good news after his uncle called him.

"Didn't believe it for a bit there, until I saw online that there was a ticket sold in Chilliwack and that convinced me it could be real," he said.

He described the experience of winning the lottery as an "initial shock" followed by a numb feeling, before his brain started racing about what comes next.

The lucky winners plan to celebrate by buying new cars and throwing a barbecue for family. John is also considering a new home, and Travis said he's thinking about retiring early. 

According to the BCLC, the odds of matching all six numbers, not including the extra, on a Lotto 6/49 ticket are an infinitesimal one in 13,983,816.