Saanich resident Morgan Harker knows he is one lucky man as he steps forward as the $25 million winner on the B.C. Lottery Corporation's Lotto Max.
"You always hope, right? It's always in the back of your mind but you don't think it's going to be you," Harker said.
Harker, 40, purchased the winning ticket on Oct. 30 from the lottery outlet at the Bay Centre. After the draw on Nov. 1, his wife heard via social media there had been a Victoria winner and checked the ticket online. She texted her husband with the news immediately.
"I was pretty calm but calm to the point of it being shock," Harker said. "It was pretty amazing and unbelievable, lots of thoughts and plans."
The lottery corporation announced Harker as the winner on Friday, Nov. 15. He said up until then no one outside his family knew he was the lucky winner.
Harker works for the federal government and says he hasn't made any plans yet whether he will continue in his current position.
"I will be calling my boss on Monday," laughed Harker.
Initial plans include paying off the mortgage, heading to Hawaii with his wife and two children and maybe buying a new car.
"Pretty cliche stuff really, but I guess those are the comforts that we all want," Harker said.
Otherwise Harker said his family plans to take their time figuring out what to do with the money.
"It is sinking in. It's actually quite overwhelming, because obviously financially it's amazing, but it comes a lot of responsibility," Harker said. "It's something foreign. So we're going to take some time to work through it, not make any rash decisions."