'I thought the Lotto! app was glitching': Vancouver man wakes up $500K richer

One lucky Vancouverite woke up to a winning lottery ticket. 

Kyle Leech was still in bed when he found out that he won $500,000 from a shared Maxmillions prize with another winning ticket in Quebec, from the Lotto Max draw on Sept. 27.

"I was in my parents' apartment in bed still, and at first, I thought the Lotto! app was glitching," says Leech of that morning. "I closed the app and re-opened it and checked it again, and then three more times before I finally believed it."

The Vancouver resident purchased his ticket at the Otter Co-op Gas Bar on Mount Lehman Road in Abbotsford and plans to use his win to pay off his mortgage and travel more.

“My wife and I have a dog that we love to take out paddle boarding and hiking, so we’re hoping to travel more with this win,” he says. “I feel super lucky and fortunate to have won at all. It will definitely take some stress off and make things easier.”

So far, B.C. lottery players have won over $137 million from Lotto Max.