A resident of central B.C. has spent the last 10 months knowing he was $46 million richer. Now, the rest of the world does too. Richard Z. won the gold ball prize in the Dec. 20, 2025 Lotto 6/49 draw, according to a Tuesday news release from the B.C. Lottery Corporation. BCLC did not share Richard’s full name. He told the lottery corporation he was relaxing at home in Quesnel, B.C., when he saw that someone from the city had won the gold ball jackpot. “I checked the BCLC website and had an inkling I may have the winning ticket,” Richard said, according to the release. “When it said it was the gold ball, that’s when the overwhelming feelings set in; knowing that out of everyone in Canada, I had the ticket that won $46 million.” Richard told BCLC he first shared the news with his wife. “There were tears of joy,” he said. “It was overwhelming.” The winning ticket was purchased at Billy Barker Casino in Quesnel, and Richard completed his prize claim at BCLC’s Kamloops office on Oct. 16, nearly 10 months after his lucky draw. He told the lottery corporation he plans to travel—including a trip to see the pyramids in Egypt—and to “move forward slowly.” “It feels great,” Richard said. “We want to live the life we live now and still want to keep our lives simple.” The gold ball draw is a guaranteed prize that is awarded after every Lotto 6/49 draw. The winner receives either $1 million or the gold ball jackpot, which starts at $10 million and grows if the gold ball is not drawn. The odds of winning either the guaranteed $1 million or the gold ball prize vary depending on the number of tickets sold. The odds of winning Lotto 6/49’s classic jackpot, which is always $5 million, are one in nearly 14 million. BCLC says lottery players in the province have claimed more than $135 million in prizes from Lotto 6/49 draws so far this year.
