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Rick Ruszkowski. (submitted photo/Saskatchewan Lotteries)
birthday winner

P.A. man wins $225,000 on his birthday, will fix 26-year-old vehicle

Jun 17, 2020 | 12:45 PM

A Prince Albert man is over the moon after taking home the big prize in the Saskatchewan Lotteries’ The Big Spin Zing, but he’s not getting too carried away on spending plans.

Rick Ruszkowski bought the ticket in May at a local 7-Eleven store which won him $10,000 and an opportunity to spin a wheel for a bigger prize. And that prize sure was bigger. Ruszkowski collected $225,000 on June 16.

“I want to be very humble about it. I’ve got some money I’m going to share with friends and family but I’m not going to blow it and I’m not going to go out and buy a new car or truck,” he told paNOW. “I’m going to do something for my mom and my sisters and people that need it but I’m not going overboard because I could blow $200,000 pretty damn quick.”

He explained when he went to the store last month all they had left for the lottery were tickets for the Big Spin Zing. He told the woman working at the store to pick out one of the lucky tickets in the middle.

He said when $10,000 popped up on the store’s screen and gave him a chance to spin the wheel, he couldn’t believe it.

“I thought ‘Is there something wrong with that screen you’re looking up at there?’” he said.

Other than helping his loved ones, Ruszkowski wants to fix his 1994 Chevrolet Impala SS.

“I’m gonna put some new tires on it and give it a good tune up and wash it up,” he said. “It’s kind of a collector’s car so I’ve been wanting to spend a bit of money just fixing it up.”

Ian.gustafson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @iangustafson12

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