Ryoichi Yamada of North Vancouver won $2.5 million in Lotto 6/49 (BC Lotteries photo)

By Vernon Matters Staff

BC Lotteries

B.C. resident plans trip to Japan after splitting lottery jackpot

Aug 23, 2023 | 10:30 AM

Ryoichi Yamada initially ignored an email that said he won a prize on PlayNow.com as he thought it was a scam.

Luckily, after logging into his PlayNow.com account, he quickly realized he won $2.5 million, splitting the $5-million Lotto 6/49 Classic Jackpot with a player in Ontario from the August 16, 2023 draw.

“I was working and got an email,” recalled Yamada. “[The email] said I won a prize and it exceeded the amount in my account and I thought it was a scam. I logged onto my [PlayNow.com] account and realized there were a lot of numbers in there. I started shaking!”

The North Vancouver resident — who selected his own numbers for the winning ticket as part of a PlayNow.com Lotto Subscription — was most excited to share the news with his wife.

“She asked if I won $10 and I said a little more. I showed her the amount and she was speechless.”

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Yamada is taking some time to determine what’s next, but a trip back home to Japan and purchasing property is on his to-do list.

Even though Yamada’s plans are not fully confirmed, he is sure about one thing: “That’s a lot of money!”

Yamada claimed his $2.5 million jackpot on August 22, 2023, at BCLC’s Vancouver office.

So far in 2023, B.C. lottery players have redeemed more than $72 million in winnings from Lotto 6/49.