Derek Schwager holds a cheque after winning in the Feb. 9, Lotto 6/49 draw. The Belleville man decided to take the lump sum payout of $1.5 million after winning the $100,000-a-year-for life jackpot.
BELLEVILLE, ONT. - A Lotto 6/49 jackpot winner who opted to take a $1.5 million lump-sum payout over $100,000-a-year for life plans to pay off his mortgage and other debt.
Derek Schwager, 40, of Belleville, is Ontario's first winner of the Lotto 6/49 February bonus draws of $100,000-a-year for life.
Schwager decided to take the $1.5 million lump-sum payment after winning the Feb. 9 draw.
My jaw just about dropped to the floor when I saw I won $100,000, Schwager stated in a press release. And then I discovered it was $100,000 a year for life.
Schwager, a machine-operator who is married with one child, is a regular lottery player, but had never had a major win until now.
The win will erase much of Schwager's debt.
It's going to be a great feeling to pay off my mortgage, he stated. I'm going to pay off my debts also.
But there will also be a treat in his driveway to celebrate the win.
I'm going to buy myself a new pickup truck next week, he stated.
