VANCOUVER -- A B.C. man reeled in quite the catch after stopping at a gas station while on his way home from a fishing trip last month.
Kenneth Giffen from Abbotsford filled up his tank at an Esso station near Agassiz and made the split second decision to buy a lottery ticket.
It's a decision that has paid off big time, as he's now a million dollars richer.
"At first, I thought it was only a $1,000 win, but I thought (I saw) a lot of zeros so I checked it again," Giffen said in a news release.
Giffen, who said he plays the lottery "off-and-on" discovered he had won the $1 million guaranteed prize from the Lotto 6/49 draw on June 13.
He found out the day before Father's Day when he was getting a car wash, as it was still dirty from the fishing trip.
“I was pretty anxious while I waited to get out of the car wash. My first thought was my wife and family — I wanted to be able to share the moment with them.”
His family joined him at the car wash as he checked his ticket again. Giffen said he's excited but it hasn't quite sunk in yet.
As for how he plans to spend his winnings, Giffen said it's all about sharing it with his family.
"It's really about spending time with my wife and daughters," he said. "It's the freedom to know it's going to help with their future."
