Rodney McFadyen and Derek Marsh split an alberta $12.5 million lotto max prize from the May 19 draw after years of playing together. McFadyen, of Provost, and Marsh, of Edmonton, said the win has not fully sunk in after they checked the ticket and saw $12,500,000.
McFadyen picked up the ticket at Provost Fas Gas at 4011 57th Ave. in Provost, after redeeming a previously won Free Play ticket. He later learned there were two Lotto Max winners in the previous night's draw, one in Alberta and one in Quebec, then scanned the ticket and saw the prize amount.
Provost Fas Gas Ticket
McFadyen said, “I was working and saw there were two Lotto Max winners – one in Alberta, one in Quebec. I didn’t think much of it until I scanned our tickets later.” He added, “I started scanning the tickets, saw $12,500,000 and just froze!”
He then called Marsh to tell him about the win. Marsh said, “He’s messed with me about this before.” After checking the numbers himself, Marsh said, “I looked up the numbers and lost it! My smartwatch calculated seven kilometres over the next few hours from all my pacing!”
Years of Super Pack Turns
The two men had been playing together for years and took turns picking up a Super Pack once a week. After learning they had won, they went to the bank and said they would think carefully about their next steps before spending the money.
McFadyen described the experience as “an emotional roller coaster.” Marsh said, “We joked about going to Aruba and leaving our wives with a pile of Scratch & Win tickets to keep them busy until we got home.”
They said they plan to share their good fortune with their wives and children, but the decision on how to use the money has not been made yet.
McFadyen and Marsh
The prize gives the friends immediate breathing room, but they are not rushing into a plan. For now, the most concrete next step is the one they already took: a bank visit, followed by a careful conversation about what comes next.
