Mandatory "extra" measures prevented the Western Canada Lottery Corp. from officially unveiling a Gimli-area man as Manitoba's latest big lottery winner yesterday.

Blair Knutson is the owner of Saturday's Lotto 6/49 winner, worth nearly $16.7 million, purchased at G & C Grocery in the Interlake town.

But because Knutson owns the store, WCLC spokeswoman Andrea Marantz said the corporation must go through some additional measures before handing him a cheque.

Integrity

"There's just a few extra things to ensure the integrity of the game," she said yesterday afternoon, stressing that extra precautions do not equal suspicions.

"It's just a part of the system. Any time a retailer wins we check into his complaint files, check into his record as a retailer, and check into his own records as a winner."

Marantz said there isn't much that can be done to tamper with lottery tickets but acknowledged there is an element of suspicion among the public regarding "insider wins."

"With every winner there is a process," she said. "We have to be satisfied that the person bringing the ticket in is the owner of that ticket."

An Ontario Lottery Corp. insider scandal was revealed last year following a television expose that showed a retailer snatching a $250,000 prize from a 78-year-old man.

Approximately $86 million in stolen jackpots and 247 insider wins were estimated following a lengthy investigation by the Ontario ombudsman.

Marantz said part of the WCLC process is a sort of cross-examination to confirm where tickets were purchased and at what time.

"We're just always making sure the right person is getting the right prize," she said.

An official announcement and press conference is expected sometime today, Marantz said.