Alberta town sells 2 winning lottery tickets 3 days apart

Lorniel Velez (left) and Maxine and Thorne Thompson (right). (Photos: Western Canada Lottery Corporation)

Three Albertans are celebrating $1 million wins from lottery tickets bought in the same southern Alberta town just three days apart.

Thorne and Maxine Thompson bought their winning Western Max ticket from a Co-op in High River on Oct. 18, but the pair, who are residents of Nanton, didn't check it for a week.

It wasn't until Oct. 27 that the Thompsons discovered they had won $1 million on the Oct. 18 draw by matching all seven numbers correctly.

"We really couldn’t believe it," Maxine said in a news release. "We are going to put it in the bank, and we want to help out the family."

"We used to dream about being lottery winners; now we are."

The second winning lottery ticket was purchased just three days after the Thompsons bought theirs.

Lorniel Velez bought his Lotto Max ticket from a Circle K in High River on Oct. 21, returning to the same location a week later to check it.

Velez ended up winning one of the Max Millions prizes on the draw.

"I got home and asked my wife what she wanted me to buy for her," he said.

"I’m going to pay off my mortgage and put some into savings.

Velez says it's a relief to not have to worry about how he'll pay to send his kids to college.

The Circle K where Velez bought his ticket (on Fifth Street S.E.) is about a 15 minute walk from the Co-op (on First Street S.E.) where the Thompsons bought theirs.