Atlantic Lottery winners keep spending plans modest

It took nearly 18 years but Budd Hancock of Black River, N.S., kept a promise to his wife, Debbie, that if she married him, he'd win the lottery.

Last week, he won the top prize on Atlantic Lottery's Set for Life Scratch'N Win ticket $1,000 a week for 25 years or a lump sum of $675,000. The Hancocks chose the lump sum.

"It was a joke. He'd say, 'If you marry me, I'll win the lottery, I promise.' So every week, he buys tickets. And every week, I'd say, 'You haven't kept your promise yet,'" Debbie Hancock, 47, said in an interview Wednesday.

The couple celebrates their 18th wedding anniversary in June.

"Better late than never," she said.

No fancy house

Today, Budd Hancock, 58, is back at work at his job as a car mechanic in Kentville.

"He's going to give them a couple of weeks notice. He'll be done there but I think he'll still do something," said Debbie.

They have no plans to move into a bigger, fancier house.

"We live in Black River, on the mountain. We are both perfectly happy, we won't be going anywhere," she said. However, they may put some new flooring in the kitchen and bathroom, she added.

Maybe a four-wheeler

Meanwhile, the couple is mulling over what to do with their winnings. They have no children, just "two extremely spoiled cats," Debbie said.

"We were talking last night and he said, 'Honey, I really want to get a four-wheeler, I've wanted one for years,' and I said, 'If you're going to get a four-wheeler, I really want my roomba [vacuum]," she said.

"Before, he would say, 'Honey,it's too expensive, just use a broom.'"

As far as travel plans go, Debbie hopes some day they may visit Germany, and "maybe next year, we'd go to Newfoundland to see the Brier."