Yellowknife man wins $275,000 on Big Spin

A Yellowknife resident has become the North’s first-ever top prize-winner on The Big Spin, a contest which allows players to win hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Thomas Desjarlais began by purchasing a $5 “Zing” instant ticket, and ended up with $275,000 after spinning the physical Big Spin prize wheel in Alberta.

The $5 ticket gave Desjarlais a “Big Spin” prize when he bought it, meaning he was selected to travel to spin the wheel for real.

The win was, remarkably, Desjarlais’s second in 10 days. He won $10,000 on August 17, family members said, followed by another $10,000 and the Big Spin opportunity 10 days later.

In a Western Canada Lottery Corporation news release, Desjarlais said he was “very surprised” to win the opportunity to travel to St Albert and take part.

Prizes on the physical wheel range from $100,000 to $500,000.

Desjarlais declined to be interviewed. The lottery corporation said he has no specific plans for the windfall.

The corporation says it makes the names of major winners like Desjarlais public “to protect the integrity of the games – it verifies that prizes are won and shows that winners come from every walk of life.”