 William Hastie, 71, and his wife Pat, 68, of Kirkland Lake, Ont., were all smiles after receiving their $16.7 million Lotto 6/49 cheque, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2009. (QMI/Jack Boland)
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TORONTO -- Bill and Pat Hastie of Kirkland Lake are now millionaires but don't expect them to embrace the flashy lifestyle.
"We're only ordinary people and we've never had that kind of money before," said Bill, 71, in a news conference at the OLG prize office yesterday in downtown Toronto after collecting a cheque for $16.7 million.
After 43 years of buying lotto tickets, Bill finally hit pay dirt on Jan. 2 when a Quick Pick he bought at a Kirkland Lake convenience store came up big.
So what kind of car is he going to buy? A Lamborghini or a Porsche?
"A Ford," Hastie said, adding the roads are too bad up in the country for an expensive sports car.
The newly rich Hasties were also asked if there were any travel plans on the horizon.
"Yeah, back home," Bill Hastie cracked. "I want to get out of here, I'm not used to city life."
"We like to visit but we're happy to go back home," his wife added.
"We have fresh air there," Bill joked.
Bill, a retired transportation ministry employee, also said he'll use the money to fix up his house. After the press conference yesterday he was headed to the bank to deposit the biggest cheque he'll likely ever see in his life.
He recalled how when he first found out he had won, he thought the prize was just $16,000. Lucky for him, it was a thousand times more than that.
When asked what winning the $16.7 million actually meant to him, Bill said he's happy his family won't have to worry about having enough money.
"I could drop dead tomorrow, but at least I'll go knowing my kids will always have enough money and my wife will always have money," he said.
The couple was also asked if they were worried that their new windfall would potentially create problems like people hounding them for money. Pat said she had a solution for that.
"Well, we are going to buy a call-display phone," she said.
BRETT.CLARKSON@SUNMEDIA.CA
