REGINA - James Smith Cree Nation’s Rollins Head is Saskatchewan's newest millionaire after bringing home one of the MaxMillions prizes awarded for the Sept. 23 Lotto Max draw.
Head purchased his ticket on the afternoon of the draw from Prairie North Co-op at 408 Saskatchewan Ave. E in Melfort. He won by matching all seven numbers for one of the winning MaxMillions draws - 1, 10, 18, 19, 27, 42, and 50.
The Monday after the draw Head went into town, scanning his ticket using the self-checker at a local store. He was shocked by what he saw.
"I didn't believe it! I thought it was a mistake," Head recalled as he claimed his prize. He scanned his ticket an additional two times to make sure what he was seeing was true.
Still in disbelief, Head went to another nearby store, where he asked the cashier to check his ticket on their terminal. When they did, the terminal froze up, confirming he had won.
"My hands were shaking," he continued. "People in the store were congratulating me as I was leaving."
The happy winner has a few plans for his recent windfall.
"It makes me feel like I can do quite a bit. I can fix things with the house that I've always needed to fix," he said.
In addition to home renovations, Head said his windfall would allow him to continue enjoying outdoor hobbies such as quadding and hunting.
Sask Lotteries is the main fundraiser for more than 12,000 sport, culture and recreation groups in communities across Saskatchewan.