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Revelstoke man has 20-million reasons to smile

Peter Mueller, a 68 year-old retiree from Revelstoke, won $20,223,182.30 in the Oct. 30 Lotto 6/49

Andrea Klassen – Kamloops This Week

As B.C. Lottery Corporation staff rose to their feet for an ovation, Peter Mueller gave the giant novelty cheque that had just been passed his way a once-over.

As he took in the staggering figure printed on the cheque, a grin spread over his face.

“Oh,” he said. “Nice.”

Make that $20 million of nice.

Mueller, a 68 year-old retiree from Revelstoke, won $20,223,182.30 in the Oct. 30 Lotto 6/49 draw after all six numbers on his quick-pick ticket matched those drawn.

He accepted his cheques, both the big one to keep and the small one to cash, in Kamloops on Friday, Nov. 1.

Mueller told reporters he was eager to head back home to his bank to get started on life as a multi-millionaire. But, once the money is in his account, he is not sure what the future holds.

“I have to think about it for a couple days,” he said. “I’m going to go to Mexico and sit on a beach and think about it.”

Mueller, who has lived in Revelstoke for 35 years, said he was driving to Vernon the day he discovered his big win.

“I heard in the morning on the news that someone in Revelstoke won,” he said. “So, all the way down to Vernon, I figured maybe it’s me — and it was.”

When the clerk at the Village Green mall checked the ticket, neither she nor Mueller could quite believe what was happening.

“I was just shocked,” he said. “It’s something — you think it never happens to you.”Mueller said he has been a longtime lotto player and, while he’s had a few small wins in the past, they can’t quite compare to taking home the whole pot.

“I’ve got it half back now, all the money I put in,” he joked.

The last multi-million dollar Lotto 6/49 jackpot win in B.C. was in August, when a Burnaby resident took home $3.2 million. Merritt’s Mitchell Shuter also racked up a big win in 2013, taking home just over $11 million in February.