How do you celebrate being the lucky winner of an $11 million Lotto 649 jackpot? Mitchell Shuter says he wants to ride his good fortune on a trip to Las Vegas, where he hopes the dice will be as good a friend as the lottery ticket.
Shuter is a 50 year old long-time lottery player from the small town of Merritt, BC – located approximately 85 km from Kamloops. He says he has played the lottery on a regular basis for 25 years, but until this week never had a payoff to make it all worthwhile. At first he hadn’t even realized he was the jackpot winner, until visiting family in the Vancouver area. Upon his return home, Shuter claimed his $11 million jackpot prize at the BCLC office in Kamloops.
“I was a little shaky when I first discovered the win. I had to count all the commas to make sure I was reading it right and seeing millions, not thousands.”
Shuter identifies himself as an easygoing individual with simple tastes in life. However, he has been attending the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology to gain a bachelor degree on First Nations causes. Shuter says he hasn’t decided if he will now take some time off from school, but he definitely plans to share his good fortune with friends and family – particularly those who are going through difficult financial times.
The trip to Vegas is also in the cards, and as a huge baseball fan Shuter says he has always wanted to see the World Masters tournament in Europe – which this year is hosted in Italy.
“I really like watching baseball and it occurred to me that I can just go to Italy.”
Shuter says he doesn’t expect to change his lifestyle too much, but isn’t shy about getting to enjoy financial freedom.