“I thought I was fired when they called me”

Seven Calgary colleagues are celebrating after learning they won the $5 million prize in the June 29, 2024 Lotto 6/49 draw. Edmond Beti, Jeremy Buckley, Faye Brautigam, Cindy Einarson, Christopher Ford, Eamon O’Nyons and Jason Penhalagan each have their own plans to spend the prize, but one thing is clear: none of them are retiring yet.

“Nobody gives up,” said Beti. “Most of us invest it for retirement or mortgages.”

The group, which has asked that their jobs be kept confidential, will split the prize equally, with each employee taking home $714,285.71. The shock of learning they had won the lottery was a moment they won’t soon forget.

“I thought I was fired when they called me!” Brautigam said. “They told me to turn off the speakerphone and it took me a while to understand!”

For Einarson, the big news came at her usual early start to work. “I’m the first one at work every morning and Edmond came to me with the ticket and told me,” she said.

“I thought he was going to ask for my share of the money, but he said we won $5 million!”

The colleagues have been playing the lottery together for six years and therefore check their Super Pack results weekly as a group.

“We had two people check their apps and two others compared the numbers online with the winning picks,” Beti said. “We just couldn’t believe it!”

The group purchased their winning ticket at 7-Eleven on Crowchild Trail NW in Calgary and won the $5 million Lotto 6/49 Classic Draw by matching the numbers 6, 7, 30, 33, 35 and 39 .

One winner, Christopher Ford, has a very special plan for his share of the prize. “I’m taking my kids to Disneyland,” Ford said with a smile. “They always want to come, and I always say, ‘Only if we win the lottery,’ so I have to go now!”

The Lotto 6/49 Classic Jackpot drawing takes place every Wednesday and Saturday and consists of six numbers drawn ranging from 1 to 49. If a ticket sold for the drawing matches all six numbers, that ticket will win the Classic Jackpot $5 million prize . For these seven colleagues, their long-standing lottery routine has paid off in a big way.

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