A North Vancouver woman and her partner took away the ultimate prize last week after being announced the winners of the $2.1 million PNE Prize Home.
Jill Denison of North Vancouver and partner Robert Rawson of Vancouver were drawn from nearly 90,000 entries Thursday evening by Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, winning the PNE's 81st annual prize home, something the couple was shocked to discover after their names and ticket number were announced on the news.
"We thought we'd just tune into the news to see who won the home," laughed Denison.
"The ticket was at my place in North Van and I was over in south Van having dinner with Bob so we didn't have the ticket number and so we were on our way over (to) come and get the ticket after we heard that (the winners were in) North Van and then it was our names, of course."
Denison and Rawson, who had each put in $25 towards the draw, then headed straight for the PNE grounds to claim their prize. The home was just closing up for the night but was reopened when the two winners showed up.
The three-bedroom 3,080-square-foot home built by Karoleena will be located on a lake view lot in Naramata, in B.C.'s Okanagan and will feature indoor furnishings from Lane Home Furnishings.
Other amenities include Maytag, KitchenAid and Jen-Air appliances, a hot tub, a Napoleon barbecue and outdoor furniture from E9 Luxury Living. The home will also feature green 21st century touches such as a multi-purpose recycling station and living green roof.
Denison, who said she's "never won anything before," said the news came as quite a shock and that both she and Robert need time to process the whole thing before deciding what exactly to do with their $2.1 million prize.
"We haven't had time to process it all, so we have no plans at the moment," said Denison, leaving a word of advice for prospective ticket buyers in the future.
"I have been buying them for 12 years, $25. So never give up."
The couple is expected to take possession of the home in December or January 2016 depending on weather conditions.
