Last minute LottoMax ticket nets Sask. man $1 million

Clint Kennedy doesn’t usually buy a lottery ticket but when he does, he apparently has more luck than most.

The Rosetown auto body worker was unveiled Friday afternoon as Saskatchewan’s newest millionaire after winning a $1 million MaxMillion prize in the June 1 LottoMax draw.

Kennedy told reporters he only buys a ticket when the jackpot is really high, and last week’s $60 million grand prize was above his threshold— but he almost missed the deadline.

“I said ‘oh darnit, I was going to buy a ticket. I guess I can’t now,’ and a friend told me ‘well you have until 8:30,'” the father in his early 40s said.

Kennedy asked his friend to drive him to Rosetown’s 7-Eleven to beat the clock.

“I bought the ticket around 8:24 p.m. … so I had six or seven minutes before I wouldn’t have been able to buy one.”

The next day, he looked at the numbers and couldn’t believe his eyes.

“I just paced around the kitchen nervously. The kids had their heads in the iPads, so they didn’t even notice dad was acting weird,” he said.

Kennedy added his wife was on a plane, travelling for work, so he couldn’t tell her the good news.

He also kept the win a secret from his co-workers until Friday.

“They don’t know yet,” he said. “But I’ll be at work on Monday!”

Kennedy said his family plans to use the winnings to pay off debts and live a more comfortable life.

But he does have at least one splurge in mind.

“My fishing boat is getting upgraded,” he said.

No-one won the LottoMax grand prize last week, meaning the June 8 jackpot is set at $60 million with another 52 MaxMillion prizes worth $1 million each.