British Columbia

Vancouver Island bookkeeper $55M richer after life-changing lotto win

William Scott Gurney of Sidney, B.C., is the winner of the largest British Columbia Lottery Corporation prize ever awarded on the island.

William Scott Gurney bought the lucky ticket in Sidney, B.C.

A man stands with a big smile holding an oversized novelty cheque for $55 million.
Bookkeeper William Scott Gurney won't be crunching many numbers in the office after a string of lucky numbers made him a millionaire many, many times over. (BCLC)

Bookkeeper William Scott Gurney says he's sure he won't be back for another tax season.

He doesn't have to after claiming the winning ticket on Tuesday for the $55-million Lotto Max draw on Feb. 28.

Gurney, who is from Sidney on Vancouver Island, says news of the single winning ticket purchased locally was all over the radio, so he checked his Lotto App.

He thought it was going to be just any other workday crunching numbers when a string of numbers on that app changed his life.

He says he called in his assistant to confirm the number, which she initially thought was $55,000, but then they realized it was $55 million and couldn't do anything for the rest of the day. 

Gurney says he's taking some time to decide what's next, but he does plan to buy a new home on Vancouver Island, something with a dock because he loves to go crabbing.

For now, he says he's focused on finding someone to look after his clients before he retires from bookkeeping.

With files from CBC News