'Everyone in the store was cheering for me': Edmonton man wins $1M in lottery

Gary Espartero and his daughter Christine. (Credit: Western Canada Lottery Corporation)

An Edmonton man won $1 million in the Oct. 7 LOTTO MAX draw.

Gary Espartero bought the ticket at the Westgate Rexall at 95 Avenue and 163 Street in Edmonton a few hours before the draw.

He found out he was a winner when he used a self-checker at a nearby store.

“I was expecting something low, like a free play, but then all of a sudden there were a lot of numbers on the screen,” he said in a written release.

“I thought the machine was broken!”

But a cashier confirmed the win.

“I shouted, and everyone at the store was cheering for me.”

Espartero said telling his family about the win was an emotional scene.

“I couldn’t believe it – I started crying,” said his daughter Christine.

Espartero said he plans to use the money to pay off his mortgage, look for a house for his daughter, and then take a trip home to the Philippines.