Scratch Ticket Pays $675k to BC Construction Worker

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New Westminster, BC scratch card winner takes $675k lump sum after winning major prize on Set For Life scratch ticket.

We’ve all dreamed of winning an enormous amount of money playing the lottery. We’ve considered all the things we might purchase – the friends and family we might help – the charities we might donate to if we were suddenly rich. For one New Westminster construction worker, it’s no longer a dream, but a reality.

Antonio Herrera-Gomez is one of the happiest men in British Columbia right now. Earlier this week, he took a quick coffee break from his construction job, heading to the local mini-mart for a steaming cup of brew. While there, he also spent $5 to purchase a Set for Life scratch ticket.

Scratch Card Awards Ultimate Prize

What was expected to be a few minutes of rest and relaxation turned into one of the happiest moments of Mr. Herrera-Gomez’s life. However, Antonio did not have enough to time to scrape the 6 game boxes on the scratch card.

Despite time constraints, he later told interviewers, “I wanted to check the ticket before I left the store.” He handed the ticket to the retailer, and to his utter amazement, the machine froze, indicating a large amount had been won.

“The lady behind the counter said the computer froze and that I’d won!” said the lucky scratch card winner. “My heart was pounding and I thought I was going to have a heart attack!”

Mr. Herrera-Gomez hadn’t just won an amount so high that a retailer could not pay the award, he’d won the highest possible prize of all. As the name implies, Set for Life scratch tickets have the potential to award a continuous prize of $1,000 every week for the next 25 years. That’s the exact prize the lottery machine told Antonio he’d just own.

The lucky player immediately shared the fantastic news with his friends and family. He told lottery organizers in his winner’s interview that he couldn’t possibly be more excited.

“It feels amazing. I can’t believe it!” said Herrera-Gomez, unable to control the enormous grin on his face.

As for spending that new found wealth, he has big plans for the future. “I plan to build a house in Mexico and buy a home here,” he said. “This win is going to allow me to do so many things. I feel so happy!”

BC Set For Life Scratch Ticket Rules & Pays

The Set for Life scratch card is one of BC’s newest instant-win lottery tickets, launched in mid-2016. According to the lottery corporation, Set for Life scratch tickets carry approximate odds of 1:3.75 to win any prize amount.

In order to win, players must match three alike symbols within one of the card’s 6 game boxes. Three alike cash amounts award the equivalent prize. Three alike FREE TICKET symbols award a free Set for Life scratch ticket. Three alike CASH 25 YEARS symbols award the ultimate prize of $1,000 per week for 25 years.

When a player wins the Set For Life prize, they have two options. They can choose the annuity prize of of $1,000 per week for 25 years, or opt for a single, lump-sum payment of $675,000.

This is the option Antonio Herrera-Gomez chose, collecting the full $675k all at once so that he can get started on his home projects right away. However, had the lucky scratch card winner taken the annual annuity payments, the grand total would have nearly doubled to $1.3 million.