VICTORIA -- A Chemainus man says he and his wife have been left speechless after winning a $500,000 lottery prize.

Kyle Germiquet says he was on a work trip when he purchased his winning ticket at a Salmon Arm Petro-Canada on July 28.

Once he learned he had won a few days later, he rushed to tell his wife.

“She started to cry when she saw I won,” he told the BC. Lottery Corporation. “She was so overwhelmed.”

Germiquet says he felt the same way.

“I still don’t really believe it — it hasn’t really sunk in,” he said.

The Chemainus resident says he plans to use his winnings to buy a larger home for his wife and children.

“It’s pretty indescribable,” Germiquet said, “I just find myself smiling a lot more now.”

July 28 was an auspicious day for Vancouver Island lottery players.

On the same day, a Nanaimo woman won $500,000 in a lottery draw.

“I always dreamed of winning,” Debra Allen told the B.C. Lottery Corporation. “It is really hard to fathom that it’s real.”