Richmond – Barney Bjermeland of Port Hardy has the happy distinction of being the winner of the largest lottery prize ever awarded to a resident of Vancouver Island. He is now $22 million richer after his lucky ticket matched seven out of seven numbers on the May 9, 2008 Lotto Super 7 draw.

Barney, a 53-year-old general manager at Hardy Buoys Smoke Fish Inc., discovered he was a winner after his wife, Shellie, came home to tell him there was a winner on the North Island. Barney, who was off sick, immediately checked his numbers on British Columbia Lottery Corporation's website, bclc.com, and saw the good news.

"I checked it (his ticket) backwards and forwards five times. Then we called our daughter, Tanya," recalled Barney. Fortunately their daughter lives in their basement suite and was able to come up immediately. Tanya told her father to put the ticket in a plastic bag to keep it safe so that her mother wouldn't put it through the laundry by mistake.

"When I called my parents, my mother guessed right away. She asked if I was calling because I was the winner," said Barney. "Then my dad asked if I was sure."

Barney took the ticket back to where he had purchased it, the Old Schoolhouse Store, to have it checked. His lottery retailer, Pat, validated his ticket and confirmed it was the big winner.

Barney and Shellie plan to use their winnings to take their grandson and nephew to Disneyland and maybe buy a house in Maui. They also plan to balance their time between travelling and taking care of their grandson.

"You don't know how good it feels to step back from work. We've worked hard all our lives," said Barney.