A “bittersweet” victory came for one Beaverlodge man after banking a $70 Million Lotto Max Jackpot in January.
Brian Hoover, a long-time lottery player from Beaverlodge says the win signifies so much more than money in the bank as the win marks the fulfillment of a dream he shared with his late wife. He says he sees the win as an opportunity to honour her legacy.
Hoover says playing the lottery began as a long-time inside joke between him and his wife and a shared dream between the two of them.
Mrs. Hoover passed away before they could see their dream come true, but Brian says he plans to use the opportunity to commemorate his wife.
“We always talked about what we would do if we won the lottery [and] I’m determined to bring some of those ideas to life in her memory,” he says. “We had three children… She liked
to take them to parks, any park. My first thought is to have a park named for her.”
According to Hoover, he is currently in the beginning stages of his planning, but he says he is committed to providing for his community, and his family.
“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,” he says. “I want to help my family [so] I’m going to pay off a couple of mortgages and give some money to a few people.”
Hoover adds that he is looking into sponsoring a program for local schools, but “after that” he plans on looking at something for himself.
“I have a friend who lives in the Yukon who’s been asking me to visit, I’m thinking it would be nice to drive up in a classy motorhome.”
Hoover purchased his winning Lotto Max ticket at Ace Hardware in Beaverlodge and won by matching all seven main draw numbers on January 16th.
