Kelowna

A Vancouver couple vacationing in Kelowna really found a way to make that quick trip to the supermarket pay off big time.

Photo: Contributed - BCLC

Tom & Mary Weddell

Tom and Mary Weddell were in Kelowna over the thanksgiving long weekend, and while making Thanksgiving dinner, realized they had forgotten a couple key ingredients.

“We were missing a leek for the leek soup we were cooking,” says Weddell. “I kept telling my wife to just use an onion. She kept insisting I go to the store to get a leek and that’s when I bought the (Lotto 6/49) ticket.”

That ticket was one of two winning tickets sold for Wednesday's $16 million Lotto 6/49 draw.

The couple actually grew up in Kelowna but have since moved to Vancouver, however they still make regular trips back to their home town.

They were still in the city when they heard that a winning ticket had been sold in Kelowna for the October 10 draw.

“We heard that someone had won big,” says Weddell. “Mary and I checked that ticket so many times. You just don’t believe your eyes.”

The Weddells didn't wait long to claim their jackpot. Less than a day after the draw, the couple were in the Kamloops office to claim their $7,943,131 jackpot.

"I'm shocked," added Weddell who admits he never really believed he would win.

"I'm a regular player and I know that the odds are impossible." says Weddell, who purchased a quick pick while at the Sunshine Market on Lakeshore Road in Kelowna  on Monday.

The couple say they plan to continue on as usual, and are not planning any exotic getaways or big purchases, at least for the time being, but they initial say they will take another vacation soon.

“The moral of the story is to always listen to your wife when she tells you go to the store,” says Weddell.