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‘Butthead’ from Langley wins half million dollars

Mark and Rosslynn Denton will spend the weekend pondering how to use this week’s 6/49 windfall
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Will Mark Denton retire after winning half a million dollars? He’s not sure yet. (Special to the Langley Advance Times)

A visit to the neighbourhood pub Wednesday, means Mark and Rosslynn Denton will no longer be Langley residents.

Renovations wrap up this weekend on their Walnut Grove townhouse, and after winning half a million dollars on Wednesday’s Lotto 6/49, Mark insists the for sale sign will go up on their Langley home next week.

“As soon as it’s done this weekend, it goes up for sale,” he said, noting they’re moving to northern end of Vancouver Island, where thanks to their unexpected windfall, they’re going to buy a home.

While Mark, 54, buys lottery tickets pretty regularly, when he learned the lottery grand prize was up to $25 million for Wednesday, he decided to up his chances by purchasing another ticket with the extra.

He typically plays the same numbers, and always goes for the extra. This time was no exception. It paid off big when he matched all four of the extra numbers.

He bought the ticket on Wednesday from the self-serve lottery terminal at the Walnut Grove Pub, just 20 minutes ahead of the cutoff for that night’s draw.

WINNING NUMBERS

He learned of his win on Thursday morning.

“I got up, got my coffee, and was sitting on the couch with the wife, watching the news, and I went online to see the winners. I saw some butthead in Langley won half a million, so, I figured I better check my tickets… I checked my tickets, and guess what honey, I’m that butthead.”

Rosslynn, his wife of 30-plus years, didn’t believe him immediately, and had to scan the ticket herself before realizing Mark was telling the truth.

“She said, ‘oh, wow, what are we going to do now?’,” Mark recounted. He simply insisted they go and get the money first.

“It still hasn’t really sunk in yet,” he told the Langley Advance Times Friday, when he arrived in Richmond to pick up the cheque.

Beyond buying a house with their winnings, Mark, a truck driver by trade, said he will likely buy himself a new vehicle (his wife just bought a new vehicle last year). As for retirement, he’s not to sure if that’s in the cards.

“I got the weekend to think about it. We’re going away to Whistler this weekend, so we’re going to discuss things,” Mark said, noting Friday that he was still in shock and the reality was still sinking in.

But, the couple is definitely on the same page as to what the majority of the money will go toward – that being a house on the island.

“I trucked the island years ago and I fell in love with it,” Mark said. “We vacation there every year, and we have friends over there.”

RECENT LOCAL WINNER: Forgotten lottery ticket was worth $250,000

This windfall easily dwarfs his last big lottery winning. He won $3,000 on a 50/50 ticket at the same pub a few years ago.

They haven’t told all the family yet, which including their daughter and eight-year-old son. Mark said they’re hoping to spring the news on them this weekend during a pre-arranged birthday trip to Whistler.

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roxanne.hooper@langleyadvancetimes.com

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Roxanne Hooper

About the Author: Roxanne Hooper

I began in the news industry at age 15, but honestly, I knew I wanted to be a community journalist even before that.
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