Alberta village abuzz after woman wins $50M Lotto Max prize

A sleepy Alberta villageis green with envy after one of its residents won a $50-million lottery jackpot.

A retired woman from Irma, located almost 200 kilometres southeast of Edmonton,found out she'd won Friday's Lotto Max prize when she checked her ticket at the local Co-op store.

The winner is asking for her privacy, but that's not stopping villagers in the community of 500 residents from talking about the big win.

Kent Erickson was there as the winner pushed her shopping cart up to the cashier with her ticket in hand.

• Winning ticket for $50-millionLottoMax jackpot sold in Prairies

"She went in line and she said, 'I just have to check my ticket, I think I won.'

"And so she went up and gave the young lady, the cashier, her ticket and it was really simple, no bells or whistles or anything, but up on the screen was 'winner,' a fiveand zero and whole bunch of zeros after that.

"You don't know what to say when that happens."

'It's awesome'

Erickson wasn't the only one in disbelief.

The flustered cashier had to track down the store manager to double-check the winning numbers.

"While the cashier went to get the manager to double-check the numbers, the lady was looking through the magazines and looking for some more groceries, she was a little bit in shock I think," Erikson said in an interview with CBC Edmonton.

"It was surreal."

Erickson said the woman is from a well-known farming family that has been part of the community for generations.

"She worked on the farm for a long time, and back in the day, I imagine, when she was younger on a small farm, striving to make ends meet, she probably worked hard as that generation did," Erikson said.

"So it's a good thing, that for those retired years of her life, she can maybe go on a holiday and do some extra things and have those opportunities. It's just fantastic."

"It's awesome for a small town and it's really great for them."

Irma is 178 km southeast ofEdmonton on Highway 14.

Another lucky strike

Meanwhile, Lady Luck has struck again in Alberta.

The winning ticket for the Daily Grand Lotto Max grand prize of $1,000 a day, for life, was sold in Edmonton.

The winner has yet to claim his or her prize or contact lottery officials.

The winning numbers on Nov. 10 were 1, 11, 16, 46 and 48. The Grand number was 5.

Daily Grandlaunched in late October. The Nov. 10 draw marked the first time its top prize has been won.