Bedtime lottery ticket check turns into $24-Million dream for Aldergrove, B.C. man

Ronald Cumiskey had the sweetest dreams of his life last Wednesday after realizing he had the jackpot-winning ticket from the May 27 Lotto 6/49 draw, worth more than $24 million.

“Cumiskey was just about to turn out the light when he remembered he hadn’t checked his Lotto 6/49 ticket yet – so he pulled out his phone and his ticket to compare the results,” according to a BCLC news release.

“I checked it two, three, four times before it finally sank in,” he said in the release. “It’s the dream you never think is going to come true.”

After telling his roommate and his girlfriend about his winning ticket, he called his boss and announced he was retiring.

READ MORE: Great-grandmother scores $500,000 lotto win during B.C. visit

From Aldergrove, Cumiskey is the third B.C. resident to win the Lotto 6/46 jackpot in 2020, and claimed his life-changing prize through BCLC’s alternate prize-claim process. In April, White Rock’s Tibor Tusnady won $16 million and in March, Burnaby’s Saeid Ebrahimi won $5 million playing Lotto 6/49, according to the news release.

Cumiskey plans to take visit Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and the East Coast of Canada with his winnings but his first priority is to take care of the people he loves, according to the release.

“I want to spend it helping the people that are close to me and have been there for me through my life,” he said in the release.
 
In 2019, B.C. lottery players redeemed more than $85 million in prize-winning Lotto 6/49 tickets.

READ MORE: Merritt couple among 2019's big lottery winners in B.C.

Lotto 6/49 is a nationwide lottery game drawn on Wednesdays and Saturdays after 7:30 p.m. Each draw includes a Guaranteed Prize Draw of $1 million. Players can purchase tickets at any lottery retailer or online. Players can also check their lottery tickets on iOS and Android devices.

For more information, visit GameSense.com.


To contact a reporter for this story, email Carli Berry or call 250-864-7494 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

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Carli Berry

Carli Berry has been telling stories in the Okanagan for the past three years and after finding her footing in the newspaper industry, joined the Infonews team in January 2020. Recipient of the 2019 MA Murray award for feature writing, Carli is passionate about stories that involve housing, business and the environment. Born on Vancouver Island, she is happy to say Okanagan Lake reminds, her slightly, of the ocean. Carli can be reached at (250) 864-7494 or email cberry@infonews.ca.