Northern Alberta $70M Lotto Max winner to honour late wife: ‘This is bittersweet’

A northern Alberta man says he intends to honour his late wife with some of the $70 million he won in a Lotto Max draw last month.

A statement from Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) said Brian Hoover’sJan. 16 win — the largest available in Canada — signifies so much more than money in the bank for Hoover —it represents the fulfillment of a dream he shared with his late wife and a poignant opportunity to honour her legacy.

“This is bittersweet for me,” Hoover said in a statement. “We always talked about what we would do if we won the lottery.

Winning the lottery was a long-time inside joke and a shared aspiration that fueled many hopes and dreams for the couple, however his wife died before they could be realized.

“I’m determined to bring some of those ideas to life in her memory.”

Hoover purchased his winning ticket at Ace Hardware in Beaverlodge, a small town in the Grande Prairie region of northern Alberta. He won his prize by matching all seven main draw numbers on the Jan. 16 draw – 2, 9, 10, 14, 42, 43 and 44.

The Beaverlodge man said he is in the beginning stages of planning, but his hope is to provide for his community.

“We had three children, and my wife was heavily invested in their lives,” he said. “She liked to take them to parks, any park. My first thought is to have a park named for her.”

The winner said he is also looking into sponsoring some sort of program for local schools and said that’s just the beginning.

“I want to make sure I do good things. Using this money and investing in her memory is a way to share this win with her.”

Hoover also said he is going to pay off some of his family’s mortgages and help some friends out. After that, he said he is thinking about treating himself.

“I have a friend who