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 Clerk Saqib Qureshi is handing out a wealth of Lotto Max tickets at his Petro-Canada station near Sunridge Mall. (Lyle Aspinall, QMI Agency) |
CALGARY - Lotto fever is once again sweeping the city as thousands clamour to get tickets in time for Friday's $50-million Lotto Max jackpot.
The Lotto Max top prize hasn't been won for three weeks, meaning the $50 million will once again be up for grabs, while an estimated 55 Maxmillion prizes of $1 million each will also be available.
"It's been crazy," said clerk Mohammad Raza while customers queued for tickets at a Mac's store on Rundlehorn Dr. N.E.
"Normally we sell $3,500 in a week, but last week we sold more than $13,000 in lottery and that's a record for this store.
"This week, we're selling $1,500 minimum a day."
Part of a group of 20 who bought tickets for this week's draw, Robin Andrews said she would show up at work on Monday if their ticket is a winner.
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"Oh yeah, to clean out my desk," she said with a laugh.
When asked what she'd do with $50 million, Andrews said helping family would be high on her list.
"First thing I would do is set trust funds for all (my) kids," she said.
"The first thing I would do for myself is buy a house.
"Then I'd go visit family. I've got family all over the world."
An avid lotto player for the last 10 years, the biggest payout Andrews has seen is $150, but that's not stopping her from keeping her fingers crossed.
"Just cause you never know," she said.
Standing behind Andrews in line, Sam Thind said he couldn't resist buying a ticket after seeing the jackpot reach $50 million.
"This is probably the first ticket I've bought in a while," he said.
Thind also has a few plans in mind should his quick-pick ticket become a winner.
"There's a lot of things you can do," he said. "I put some into my business -- $50 million is a lot of money."
Thind is also hoping lottery luck is genetic.
"One of my family members, he won $25 million in Manitoba," he said. "That was two or three years ago."
The odds of winning Friday's Lotto Max are roughly 1-in-28 million and tickets will be sold until 7 p.m.
dave.dormer@sunmedia.ca