Vancouver Island resident celebrates ‘life-altering’ $55 million Lotto Max win

Scott Gurney is a financial adviser who just spent a busy month helping clients in the Greater Victoria area with their taxes.

He won’t have to calculate too carefully when it comes time to do his own next year, though, because the $55 million Lotto Max jackpot he snagged at the end of February is tax-free.

Gurney checked his Feb. 28 winning ticket several times on the BCLC Lotto! app at work before it sunk in. Even his office assistant thought he had won only $55,000 at first glance.

“It’s life-altering,” said Gurney. “It just doesn’t seem real.”

The B.C. Lottery Corp. celebrated his prize Tuesday with a ceremony featuring that familiar giant cheque — and even a cake for Gurney’s dog that read “Dad just won Lotto Max.”