A Prince Albert father of three is $44 million richer after winning the Aug. 8 Lotto 6/49 Gold Ball jackpot. Doug Putland almost didn’t buy the winning ticket, and it turned out to be the luckiest of them all. When he checked the numbers, he couldn’t believe it and checked multiple times. “It basically blew up the whole system and put it in lockdown and, and then she brought the ticket and started counting the zeros with her pen. And that’s when I, I dropped the F-bomb. Holy smokes. This is crazy,” Putland said. All those zeros totalled $44 million dollars. He bought the ticket at the Rosthern Co-op on the way to the Rider game, which was his usual routine to buy lotto tickets. He told the crowd Wednesday in front of the Saskatchewan Lotteries headquarters that he and his wife are on a fixed income being retired, and these winnings will help his three daughter and nine grand kids. “I come from a very big family. There were 14 of us in the family and we had nothing. So, it’s kind of overwhelming in a way, to know that I can set up my daughters and generations to come. Like one of my sons in laws told me, this is generational,” he said. The announcement was made in an outdoor tailgate party style party. The first thing Putland bought with the money was a new truck that he’s always wanted. He is a devout Roughrider fan and received a green jersey singed by Trevor Harris. The winner also plans to honour his late cousin by fixing up the ball diamonds in their hometown. Putland’s win is the largest lottery prize claimed in Saskatchewan since 2022, when the province saw several major jackpot wins. The $44-million prize also surpasses Saskatchewan’s most recent major lottery win. In January 2026, a Saskatchewan player claimed an $18-million Lotto 6/49 Gold Ball jackpot.
