Alberta man splits Lotto 6-49 win, with himself

An Alberta man who won a $5-million Lotto 6-49 jackpot last month had to share the prize with himself after accidentally buying two tickets on the same draw.

Andrew Burke of Calmar, Alta., used the same numbers on both tickets, so he was able to take home the entire Sept. 16 windfall.

Burke says he has been playing the lottery for years, but figures he's won enough to retire now and give someone else a chance.

He says he wants to do some renovations on his house, restore a vintage Land Rover he owns, and maybe take a trip back home to the United Kingdom when travel is safer.

He bought the tickets at a gas station in Calmar, just south of Edmonton, where he's a regular.

It's also where he found about his double win, much to the excitement of the owner and his employees.

“The owner walked in and said, 'What have you done Andy? Have you broken my machine?’” Burke recalled in a news release Tuesday from the Western Canada Lottery Corp.

“The clerk then told me, ‘You’ve won $2.5 million’ and I said she better check that other ticket, because it’s the same numbers!”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 20, 2020.