Monday August 24, 2020 ~ CAMPBELL RIVER, BC
by Mary P Brooke, editor | Island Social Trends
In hearing about what a Campbell River lottery ticket winner plans to do with his winnings, there are insights into the financial struggle that many Canadians are faced with.
Winning over $800,000 — and giving part of that to his grown children — still leaves the recipient planning for a home purchase.
Cost of housing on Vancouver Island:
In the overall Greater Victoria area, the average home sale price in July was over a million dollars at $1,033,706 (Victoria Real Estate Board); in the west shore region prices are consistently below the average…. in Langford the average July sale price was $799,814 and in Sooke was $662,223.
In the Campbell River area the average July home sale price was $523,670 and in Nanaimo was $614,860 (Vancouver Island Real Estate Board).
Cost of living during COVID:
In recent days, the inflation rate in Canada were revealed as almost zero now during the pandemic, but the cost of food has inflated by over three percent due to pandemic-related supply chain interruptions and cost of handling (health protection costs) at the retail level.
Costs of most daily needs have increased during the pandemic including additional cleaning, cost of deliveries, and supplying one’s household with personal protective equipment like masks and gloves.
Perhaps those items don’t have a category within the standard cost of living calculations which are based on pre-pandemic parameters such as a ‘traditional’ food basket, home-heating, and car-related costs.
Details of the winning ticket tale:
“The weekly trip to the laundromat in late July brought back a lot more than clean socks for Campbell River’s Antonius Vollenberg,” said the BC Lottery Corporation a news release today.
The Vancouver Island resident came home with $862,722.80 after matching 6/7 plus the bonus on the July 28, 2020 Lotto Max draw.
“It was laundry day,” Vollenberg said, where does laundry at the Campbell River Laundromat. “Whenever I do laundry, I buy a ticket.”
Vollenberg checked his ticket on the BCLC Lotto! app. He says he likes to play Lotto Max twice a week always with the dream of “helping my kids out.”
“I called my kids and told them we were having a family meeting so I could tell all three together,” he recalled. “They couldn’t believe it…no one really believes me when I tell them at first.”
The laundromat win hasn’t completed its cycle for Vollenberg yet either, who says he’s still “in shock.” Apart from gifting part of the win to his children, he says he will save for a new home and a family vacation.
Lotto Max winnings in 2020:
Did you know? So far in 2020, B.C. lottery players have claimed more than $62 million in winnings from Lotto Max. Anyone can win and #YouCouldBeNext. Watch some amazing lottery winner stories at www.playnow.com/lottery/winners/you-could-be-next.
Lotto Max is a nationwide lottery game drawn on Tuesdays and Fridays after 7:30 p.m. (PST). Players can purchase tickets at lottery retailers or at PlayNow.com. Winning numbers and group release forms can be found online at bclc.com. Players can also check their lottery tickets anytime, anywhere on iOS and Android devices on the BCLC Lotto! app here. Say ‘Yes’ to the Extra for the chance to win up to $500,000. Extra is available with Daily Grand, Lotto 6/49, Lotto Max, and BC/49 at any BCLC lottery retailer or at PlayNow.com.