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New Westminster resident 'ecstatic' over $500K Lotto Max win

Ahmet Aktas and his family have their sights set on Hawaii after the June 21 draw.
Ahmet Aktas Lotto Max winner
Ahmet Aktas of New Westminster won $500,000 in the June 21 Lotto Max draw.

A New Westminster resident could soon be saying aloha from Hawaii after a $500,000 lottery win.

Ahmet Aktas claimed the cool half-million after the June 21 Lotto Max draw.

“I was home and checked my ticket on my BCLC Lotto! app and almost blacked out," Aktas said in a media release. "I told my wife and she thought I was joking until she saw the scanner on my phone."

Aktas said he plans to purchase a more comfortable home and travel with his family

“Winning is just really exciting," he said. "We hope to travel more with the kids. We’ve always wanted to go to Hawaii as we’ve never been.”

The New West resident purchased the winning ticket at the Circle K on Scott Road in Surrey. 

As for what it feels like to win the lottery?

"I feel like my whole chest is going to pop," Aktas said. "I didn’t know what 'ecstatic' felt like. but now I do!”

It's the second major win in recent weeks with a New Westminster connection. Burnaby's Trang Dang won $10.9 million in the May 28 Lotto 6/49 draw with a ticket she picked up at the Safeway in Royal Square.

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