A Victoria man is planning his 鈥渄ebt-free鈥� future after winning $1 million on a recent Lotto Max draw.

Stanley Daniells bought the ticket on PlayNow, the province鈥檚 only legal, regulated gambling website, and initially suspected a scam. 

鈥淚 got an email saying that my PlayNow account was over the limit,鈥� Daniells said in a BC Lottery Corporation news release. 鈥淚 thought it might be a scam, but then I checked my account and thought instead I must be dreaming.鈥�

The Aug. 13 win has Daniells looking forward to being mortgage-free and finishing some home renovations. He also plans to take a holiday.

鈥淚t means I will be debt-free, and it bumps up my retirement fund,鈥� he said.

The Victoria resident coincidentally received news of his win on his girlfriend鈥檚 birthday.

鈥淗er reaction was, 鈥楾his is the best birthday present ever!鈥欌�� he said.