Lucky couple win 'Extra' jackpot

Richmond BC, February 4, 2009 – The extra-big celebrating will have to wait, as it's straight back to work for lottery jackpot winner Mariciel Garcia of Vancouver and boyfriend Gene Tongol of Richmond.

This morning, the lucky couple was presented with a $500,000 cheque at BCLC's Richmond office for matching all four 'Extra' numbers on their Double Dip lottery ticket.

"It feels pretty good, but it's back to reality for both of us this afternoon," said Tongol, 25, who was headed straight to his job in the telecommunications field, with Garcia, 31, also expected to return to her Vancouver law office job later in the day.

"We're planning to save the money for now and use it to help buy a house in a year or so," said Garcia, who had expected to have to split the winnings.

"I saw that someone from Surrey had also won the Extra on the same draw (Jan. 31, 2009), so I thought we were splitting the jackpot. That would have been just fine with us. I mean, $250,000 is still a lot of money, but when we found out that each jackpot winner would receive a half-million dollars we were stunned. We couldn't believe our luck!"

The 'Extra' winning ticket purchased in Surrey for the Jan. 31, 2009 draw has yet to be claimed.

Extra is a BC-only lottery sold with Lotto 6/49, Lotto Super 7, and BC/49. It features a top prize of $500,000. Players who say "Yes" to the Extra get four numbers from 1-99. Players can purchase the Extra at any lottery retailer or PlayNow at bclc.com. Group release forms for people playing in groups can be obtained at local lottery retailers or at bclc.com. The sale of lottery tickets to anyone under 19 is prohibited by law.

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