Winning Grey Cup 50/50 ticket almost thrown away due to a typo

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This article was published 08/12/2015 (3590 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The journey of last week’s winning Grey Cup 50/50 ticket came to an end Tuesday, but not before it took a quick dip into the trash after a typo by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Charles Ritchot, 61, a retired mechanic living in La Salle, ended a 10-day mystery with a $178,748 jackpot he initially thought was his — then didn’t — only to find out he had in fact won the 103rd Grey Cup’s second-most coveted prize.

“When the ticket was shown on the Jumbotron, I checked the numbers, and the guy next to me was like, ‘You won,’ ” Ritchot said. “My wife was sleeping when I got home, so I figured I’d tell her in the morning. She didn’t believe me at first, and then we checked the number, and it didn’t match. I was like, ‘Aww crap.’ ”

Ritchot, feeling down on his luck, tossed the ticket in the garbage. Not long after that, he pulled it out.

“I thought, ‘Hey, I’ll keep this, and it will remind me that I will never get this close again and to never buy a ticket again,’ ” he said. “But then when it wasn’t being claimed, I called the (Blue Bombers) office.”

Ticket W-551531 still read W-551351 on the Bombers website.

“They told me that it was 351,” he said. “But it still wasn’t being claimed.”

When Ritchot checked Tuesday morning, the number had changed to read 531. He called again.

“Sure enough, I had the winning ticket,” he said. “They didn’t admit the error right away, but they did eventually. I don’t know when they corrected it.

“I’m not blaming anyone, people make mistakes. But it could have been a big mistake for me.

“But you know what? I’ll take that hassle again if I know that’s the payout any day.”

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The number was initially announced during the fourth quarter of the Nov. 29 game at Investors Group Field. The Edmonton Eskimos beat the Ottawa Redblacks 26-20, but the search for a winner for the 50/50 draw stretched into a second week.

The Bombers urged fans to check their belongings Monday and issued a warning the money would go back into the 50/50 program if not claimed by Dec. 29.

Turns out it was hanging on a wall.

Now that he’s almost $179,000 richer, Ritchot said he’s going to help his family after spending the last five years on permanent disability following complications with a heart operation. He’s got four kids and three grandkids who will be getting a couple of presents, as well.

“We got some renovations to finish around the house,” he said. “There’s always going to be something coming up. And it’s a big plus before retirement.”

Scott Billeck
Reporter

Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade’s worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024.  Read more about Scott.

Every piece of reporting Scott produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.