Abe Cappello is the grand prize winner in this year’s Fort William Rotaray House Lottery draw.
The Hawthorne Road resident’s name was drawn by MPP Michael Gravelle on Wednesday night during the Canada Day ceremonies at Prince Arthur’s Landing.
The odds were long for Cappello, who bought a three-way ticket with Carlo Cappello and Dennis Opaski. The trio will take possession of a 1,700 square-foot Ruby Crescent home valued at $426,294.
Lottery chairman Bob Hookham said it was a record-setting year for ticket sales.
“It was our most successful draw, with 9,074 tickets sold. I attribute part of the success to the support of the community and the fact we had a new promotion this year, three tickets for $250,” Hookham said.
About 42 per cent of all tickets sold were part of the new package.
About $900,000 was raised, he added.
The proceeds will be well used, Hookham said.
“We’ve got a standing commitment to the hospital for the Exceptional Cancer Care campaign for $500,000, so we’ll put a fair chunk into that,” he said.
Money will also be used to cover the cost of playground equipment at Sherbrooke Public School and will also support the local air cadet squadron.
“We do a lot of little thing for Red Cross and Salvation Army, where people fall through the cracks and we try to help them out wherever we can.”
The winners were not immediately available for comment.