REGINA — If you had a million dollars, what would you do?
That’s the question that Langenburg resident Ashley Sieben and a group of 51 other lottery players are saying today, after winning a $1 million Maxmillions prize in the Aug. 5 LOTTO MAX draw.
The group, known as “Ashley’s Crew of 52,” were formally announced to the public as winners by Sask Lotteries at a Regina news conference Friday.
A number of those winners were on hand for the news conference, where Sieben was presented by Sask Lotteries with a LOTTO MAX cheque for $1 million. The winnings will be split up evenly with each group member receiving $19,230,76.
Most of the winners are Saskatchewan residents although there is one from Alberta and 10 from Manitoba. For the last four years, the group has regularly chipped in to purchase tickets whenever the LOTTO MAX jackpot reached $50 million.
“Every time it hits $50 million, we all chip in $10 and head out down to the gas station and pick up our tickets,” said Sieben.
They didn’t win $50 million, but they did win a $1 million prize. The 52 individuals make history as the largest group to claim a single lottery prize in western Canada, according to Sask Lotteries.
Sieben, who works at the potash mine in Esterhazy, purchased the winning ticket at Petro Canada on 505 - Kaiser William Ave. East in Langenburg on the day of the draw. Their ticket had the winning numbers 6, 7, 10, 11, 27, 34 and 36.
Sieben said he learned they had won from another member of the group named Tony, who phoned him repeatedly to tell him the news. When he finally got through, he encouraged Sieben to check their tickets.
“Well, I had a stack of tickets,” Sieben said. “Another group member, Kevin, was there, too, and we were going through the tickets, and we found the ticket.”
“Yeah. I made phone calls that day, and it’s crazy, the people I talked to. It was a once in a lifetime experience.”
As for how they will spend their winnings, Sieben said they want to finish their garage and his wife plans to pay off her student loans.
The group is also not done yet. Sieben said they already have their tickets bought for the $70 million LOTTO MAX draw later today.
Here is a full list of the winners and where they are from:
Ashley Sieben – Langenburg, Sask.
Rachel Crowdis – Langenburg, Sask.
Jeanine Elmy – Langenburg, Sask.
Kevin Miranda – Grayson, Sask.
Dennis Douhaniuk – Grayson, Sask.
Cindy Moore – Spy Hill, Sask.
Jenna Karras – Spy Hill, Sask.
Tyson Duchek – Spy Hill, Sask.
Ethan Field – Spy Hill, Sask.
Colleen Larocque – Spy Hill, Sask.
Darwin Holden – Swift Current, Sask.
Taci Holden – Swift Current, Sask.
Mark Nykiforuk – North Battleford, Sask.
Mandy Lingel – Saskatoon, Sask.
Doug Ricketson – Churchbridge, Sask.
Tammy Jepson – Esterhazy, Sask.
Kimberly Varga – Bredenbury, Sask.
Dean Brenner – Churchbridge, Sask.
Steve Konkin – Estevan, Sask.
Clint Hollingshead – Esterhazy, Sask.
Laci Rapp – Fleming, Sask.
Bernard Brule – Whitewood, Sask.
Kimberly Brule – Whitewood, Sask.
James Chewka – Stockholm, Sask.
Aron Gratias – Emma Lake, Sask.
Amanda Bartok – Esterhazy, Sask.
Cody Andrews – Chaplin, Sask.
Shane Slywka – Davidson, Sask.
Aaron Gurney – Tantallon, Sask.
Sarah Bugoy – Regina, Sask.
Justin Leadley – Regina, Sask.
Nicole Lake – Regina, Sask.
Patrick Chubb – Regina, Sask.
Trevor Rieger – Regina, Sask.
Colleen Roddy – Regina
Bonnie Ulmer – Melville, Sask.
Randine Giesbrecht – Moosomin, Sask.
Matthew Pister – Moosomin, Sask.
George Williams – Springside, Sask.
Erin Kessler – Pangman, Sask.
Sheldon Rood – Assiniboia, Sask.
Munech Santos – Virden, Man.
Tiffany Cadieux – Binscarth, Man.
Murray DeCorby – Binscarth, Man.
Kelly Belhumeur - St. Lazare, Man.
Jason Wilson – Gladstone, Man.
Melanie Wilson – Gladstone, Man.
Thomas Maines – Narol, Man.
Catherine Maines – Winnipeg, Man.
Michael Collier – Flin Flon, Man.
Cory Fleury – Birtle, Man.
David McLeod – Glenwood, Alta.
