The Oilers Foundation, the charity arm of the Edmonton Oilers, called out the winning numbers on Friday for what will be the largest fan prize in sports history, as one lucky fan will win $5.41 million (US) dollars from a 50/50 prize pool with about $10.8 million USD. The rest will go to charity.
The winning number is A-37051557, and the winner has until Sept 2 at 4 p.m. local time to claim, otherwise the prize will be added to the season opener next year.
Because the lottery isn’t taxed in Canada as it is in America, the prize is worth the equivalent of winning $8.5 million in the U.S. The minimum federal tax on the lottery in America is 37%.
Only two Oilers players made more than $8.5 million this season — Connor McDavid ($15M) and Leon Draisaitl ($9 million) and their salaries are taxed.
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The prize drawn Friday was from Aug. 7, when the Oilers played Game 4 of the playoffs against the Chicago Blackhawks, which ended their season. So many people were spending money on the Oilers 50/50 Foundation online raffle that the site crashed, while hitting a peak of more than $76,240 in tickets per minute.
The delay in the draw came because the host of the lottery, Ascend Fundraising Promotions, overcharged people, and that lowered the total pool, half of which goes to Oilers charities, from more than $11.4 million to approximately $10.8 million.
