Photo Courtesy: BCLC

By Veronica Beltran

winning in the north

Northern B.C. man has no plans to retire after winning jackpot

Oct 5, 2020 | 10:48 AM

PRINCE RUPERT—A Northern B.C. resident says he has no intentions of quitting his job after hitting the jackpot.

Prince Rupert’s Rocky Paolo managed to match five consecutive icons on PlayNow.com’s Chain Reactors, winning the $302,485 jackpot.

“I was actually trying to play for the smaller $7,000 purse and I thought I had won a few free plays. So I was shocked to see it was more than that. Going back to work after that … that was the longest six hours of my life.”—Rocky Paolo

The seasoned firefighter says he has no plans to leave his job after winning the sum of money, adding that he has “at least another five years” in him.

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“I’ve never had less than two jobs at a time in my life,” said Paolo, who mentions that he also runs a commercial cleaning business on the side.

“I’ve always said that if I didn’t like the job I wouldn’t be there, but I just love what I do. I love [being a firefighter] just as much as when I first started more than 25 years ago.”—Rocky Paolo

Paolo won the jackpot on Sept.24 and adds that he “felt dizzy, like (he) was going to faint. (He) even thought (he) was going to cry.”

Paolo says he and his wife will use the earnings to pay off some bills and invest, along with a road trip to take in the beauty of our province.