Manitoba man wins, then loses, then wins again with Grey Cup 50-50 ticket

WINNIPEG – You win some, you lose some, but don’t ever trash the ticket.

That’s the lesson learned by Charles Ritchot of La Salle, Man., who won this year’s 50-50 lottery at the Grey Cup game after coming close to throwing his $179,000 winnings away.

The winning number — 551531 — was correctly announced at the game and posted correctly on the stadium’s video boards.

Ritchot’s ticket matched, but he decided to wait until the next day to surprise his wife with the good news.

Before doing that, he checked the Winnipeg Blue Bombers website and was crestfallen to find the last three numbers were 351, which didn’t match his ticket.

He even called the Blue Bombers office and was told no, he hadn’t won the big prize.

“So I said, ‘Oh darn, I was wrong,’” he told CTV Winnipeg.

He tossed the ticket but after a few minutes decided to keep it on his wall as a reminder he was “never going to get closer (to winning) so maybe just don’t ever buy tickets cause it’s just not going to happen.”

But then local news outlets reported no one had claimed the prize. Ritchot called the Blue Bombers and was again told that his ticket didn’t match the winning number.

Still unconvinced, he checked the team’s website on Tuesday morning and realized that the winning number had been corrected – and it was a match.

Kim Babij-Gesell, communications manager for the Blue Bombers, issued an apology to Ritchot on Wednesday night, saying two of the digits had been transposed on the team’s website.

“An error was made because the Winnipeg Football Club did not inform the public that the incorrect number was posted overnight on the website,” she said in a statement. “Our processes will be reviewed with training for staff to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”

The Manitoba Liquor and Gaming Authority said it is concerned about the incident and has launched an investigation.

Ritchot, meanwhile, has collected his cheque and plans to use the money for his retirement, his three grandchildren and remodelling his house.

(CTV Winnipeg, The Canadian Press)