A horrible sinking feeling last week for one Edmonton Oiler fan has been countered with an unexpected turn of events.
Clayton Hinkey, who is a single dad, won the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation 50/50 draw at a game on Oct. 16.
The grand prize was worth just over $67,000.
The problem was Hinkey and his son left the game early, not realizing he had won the big draw until after the deadline had already passed.
“I had a solid half hour of doing that Lotto 6/49 happy dance all over, before they said it’s a two business day rule,” he told 650 CKOM’s Brent Loucks Friday morning.
Hinkey said he was told the situation had never occurred before. Tickets have been lost and winners never heard from, but the Oilers had never encountered a winner post-deadline.
After hearing Hinkey’s impassioned pleas, a one-time exemption was made by the team on Thursday, and the Alberta dad will be able to claim the big prize after all. The Oilers told Hinkey they’d be posting the two business day rule on their website, and directly on their 50/50 tickets into the future.
Hinkey said he plans to donate $10,000 each to the Stollery Childrens Hospital Foundation, the Alberta Adolescent Recovery Centre and the Lloydminster Sexual Assault Centre.
While the prize is a lofty sum, it’s not the biggest given out this month.
Another winner of the same draw won $110, 577 at a game on Oct. 12.