A lucky hockey fan is going home over $18,000 richer after the Victoria Royals Foundation week-long 50/50 draw winner was confirmed today!
Hockey Day in Canada and the Victoria Royals brought in some incredibly impressive crowds to the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre over the weekend, and all were more than happy to participate in the in-game activities.
The Minor Hockey Mega 50/50 kicked off on January 15th and ran until January 21st. The Royals announced the winning numbers during their second of back to back games against the Kamloops Blazers—however the winner wasn’t revealed until Monday morning.
To make things more interesting, the jackpot started off at $2,000 thanks to a donation by the Peninsula Co-op and there was an automatic guaranteed win of at least $10,000!
Tickets for the 50/50 draw were available online or in-person at the Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada Alumni Game on January 19th, as well as the Victoria Royals games on January 20th and 21st.
As a result, the Victoria Royals reported the highest 50/50 draw they’ve ever had the pleasure of awarding—making it extra special for the receiver.
Resident Leah Plasterer told Victoria Buzz that she received an email last night from the Royals with the winning numbers.
It was just after dinner and her daughter was in the bath. When she first noticed the email in her inbox she figured they’d call the winner, so it was unlikely that she’d won.
“But then I scrolled through my numbers and there it was! I think I flipped back and forth between the website and my email like 50 times to make sure I was reading the number right,” she said.
She laughed and said that she not only began to read through the terms and conditions as well as the draw date, she also got her husband, mother, and brother to read the numbers to be extra, extra sure.
She sent an email to the Royals for that final confirmation, and today the Royals confirmed that it was, in fact, her ticket that won.
“Oh my god that this so exciting!!!!!!!! I’m screaming in my cubicle at work,” her email to the Royals read.
The total amount of winnings is $18,520, of which Plasterer will put to good use, joking that she’ll also do the “boring adult thing” and pay off some loans and bills.
“I think I will set some aside for a honeymoon trip to Japan that my husband and I have been planning for a while,” she gushed.
“We were supposed to go after our wedding in 2020. With COVID, having a baby, and everything else in life, we ended up finally getting married this past February and pushing the honeymoon to 2025.”
When asked what she planned on doing with this huge win, she confessed that she didn’t have any big plans yet.
“Probably pop a bottle or two at my daughter’s 2nd birthday party this weekend with all my family and friends. She’s still young enough that she won’t mind me stealing a little of her thunder.”
She still can’t believe her luck—only deciding to purchase the tickets after winning chuck-a-puck at the same alumni game on Friday.
The other half of the total pot will go towards the Victoria Royals Foundation and their Hockey Grant Funds.
A huge congratulations to Plasterer and her family—have fun in Japan!
