Yellowknife (Nov 26/04) - Three Yellowknifers will be having a very merry Christmas this year, with three sizeable lottery wins in the past month.

The first prize was $48,888 -- on a $3 scratch ticket. This astonishing good fortune befell Caron Lorenzen, 47, and Ivan Shott, 52, after they bought tickets at Village Reddi Mart.

"It was the last thing I was expecting -- I was shocked!" said Lorenzen in a release from the Western Canada Lottery Corporation.

"At first, I didn't believe it; I thought I had played it wrong!"

The parents of four said they'll pay some bills before deciding what to do with the money, which was claimed on Nov. 1.

You could pay a lot of bills with the $1 million one lucky Yellowknifer won playing Western 649 on Oct. 13, but the winner still hasn't come forward. He or she may just be biding their time, but you never know -- check your ticket again.

Also AWOL is the winner of $100,000 after the Nov. 13, Lotto 649 Extra draw. The unknown victor got the last six digits correct to take the spoils.

Which begs the question of what's stranger: three Yellowknife lottery winners in a month, or the fact that only one prize has been claimed?

John Matheson of the Western Canada Lottery Corporation has seen it all before -- after all, winners have a year to claim their prize.

"In the 1980s one guy used (his ticket) as a bookmark at university," said Matheson.

After nine months, the student checked the ticket and found he'd won more than $2 million. Another man left a ticket at the bottom of his briefcase for seven months: he won more than $7 million.