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Lottery win still sinking in for Saskatoon construction workers

Dec 17, 2010 | 5:27 AM

Two construction workers in Saskatoon are making plans after winning $1 million on a scratch-and-win lottery ticket this week.

Robbie Hansen and his partner, Alexandra Salter, struck it rich early Monday morning. They bought the ticket at a Macs convenience store near the Circle Drive South Bridge project, where they were working. They scratched the ticket inside a pickup truck on the job site and couldn't believe their eyes.

“I said, 'I think it says a million!'” Salter told News Talk Radio's Richard Brown on Thursday. “But we didn't have our reading glasses on — we're both in our fifties. I said, 'What do you think it says, Robbie?' And as he was grabbing the ticket away from me, it went further from my eyes and it lined up that $1 million.”

Since it was still dark outside, they took the ticket into the site's trailer and had some younger co-workers confirm the win.

It didn't take them long to give their notice to Graham Flatiron, the company that's working on the bridge project. But Hansen said their bosses are very happy for them.

“As a matter of fact, I got an email from the president of the company, saying that he'd like to see me back some time if I got tired of relaxing with my feet up,” Hansen said.

The pair plans to move to B.C. to live closer to Hansen's 84-year-old father. They're thinking about buying a small retirement home and taking a canoe trip in the Yukon.

Hansen and Salter hope to live off their winnings for a long time, so they're setting themselves up with a good financial adviser.
 

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