Don Lucas was dogsitting for his daughter on Vancouver Island when he got the call.
The 54-year-old chip truck driver from Mackenzie had his ticket drawn Thursday night as the grand prize winner of the Prince George Spruce Kings Show Home Lottery.
He's now the proud owner of a $493,000, 1,702 square-foot custom-built home by Scheck Construction and located in the Aberdeen Glen subdivision at 2626 Links Dr.
"I don't know what to say, it's a life-changer for sure," said Lucas. "That's a lot of money. I'm sure they've done a good job on it."
Lucas bought four tickets on the draw. He's been a faithful supporter of the team for decades and says he bought tickets on the lottery for about 15 years.
"I never expected it, I'm in shock," he said. "My biggest intent was not necessarily to win, but just to support the Spruce Kings, just to help them out for the year. They really depend on it and when I bought the ticket [he bought four well before Christmas] they still had a lot for sale. It's donation and goes for a good cause, I wasn't concerned about winning."
Lucas lived at Willow River for the first eight years of his life before he moved with his family to Mackenzie in 1967. He has a 34-year-old son, Ryan, who lives in Mackenzie, and a 32-year-old daughter Kristy, who lives in Nanaimo. His wife Sandi died of cancer in January 2013 at age 53.
"I took time off with my wife passing and I'm just trying to get my life together," Lucas said. "She was diagnosed in November and we went in December 31st for her first chemo and it was too aggressive. She only lasted 18 days after that.
"She probably would have loved the house, but she was never much for fancy things."
Lucas hasn't seen the show home and was unaware it backs onto the Aberdeen Glen golf course. He said he won't be back in Prince George to see it until next weekend. He owns a home in Mackenzie and said it's too early to think about what he will do with his new Prince George digs.
"I'll have to talk it over with the family," he said. "I don't golf but I'm going to try to."
After hearing the news from Spruce Kings communications director Ron Gallo right after the draw Thursday night, Lucas phoned his son, who suggested it was probably a scam. His daughter is away in Wales on a three-week holiday.
"It's her daughter's birthday [Friday], I'll phone her and tell her," he said.
Lucas has always been a hockey fan and tries to get to Spruce Kings games when he's in town. He hasn't played hockey since he was in Grade 12 playing defence for the Mackenzie juvenile team during the late 1970s.
"I even played against the Spruce Kings a few times, back in the day," he said.
The lottery was a complete sellout, which made Lucas happy.
"I'm glad the thing sold out," he said. "You have to sponsor them as much as you can to keep them going. I try to give them $500 a year, whatever they're selling I'm buying. It's amazing because I've never won anything. I just hope the Spruce Kings have another good year."
The show home lottery is the biggest single contributor to day-to-day operations of the hockey team, annually accounting for more than 60 per cent of the Spruce Kings' budget as a member of the B.C. Hockey League.
All 8,500 tickets were snapped up with the final 35 sold Thursday morning at Canadian Tire, 18 minutes after the store opened.
"That's seven of the last eight years we've sold out," said Gallo. "A week ago we didn't think we'd sell out but we sold 900 tickets in the last week."
