CAMPBELL RIVER -- When the phone rang Tuesday morning, Campbell River man Nathan Lambert had a feeling it might be good news, and he was right. He was being notified by the BC Children's Hospital Dream Lottery that he was their big winner.
"They told me that I won the whole thing and they're like, 'I hope you're sitting down.' 'No, I'm actually laying in bed,'" Lambert responded.
The 31-year-old says he'd bought $500 worth of lottery tickets for the charity for the past two years and this year he doubled his usual purchase. Lambert says he plays the stock market and has had some ups and down this year. But, his decision to invest more into BC Children’s Hospital Dream Lottery tickets paid off.
"One day I lost half of it [my investments] in one go, so right after that I'm like, 'Oh what's another $1,000?' And threw that into the Children's Charity Lottery and I ended up winning," he said.
When one of his tickets was randomly drawn, the charity announced the winner was N & R Lambert of Campbell River, leading many to believe it was for a couple. But as it turns out, Nathan added the "R," which stands for his mother's first name, in order to throw friends off in case he won.
Nathan's mother says she believes she was his good luck charm.
"I put the 'R' on the ticket so people would have a hard time finding out who I was if I was the potential winner," he said. He knows now that plan was unsuccessful.
"I've been getting a lot of phone calls and emails and everybody knows now. It's been, 'Congratulations.' Nobody is asking for a handout yet anyways," he said.
Lambert will have to choose one of eight different grand prize options made up of merchandise and homes throughout the province or to take a cash payout instead.
Despite one of those options being a new home in Courtenay's Crown Isle Resort, Lambert says he's leaning more towards the Morgan Creek property or the cash.
As for anyone else who doubts they could win a similar prize, Lambert says, "You've got to play to win, that's it."
