A Richmond County man says when he first found out he’d won the QEII Home Lottery cottage in Chester Basin that it was a cruel joke.

Ray Jeffrey of St. Peters says he’d bought tickets for 15 plus years and had never won – nor used the QEII’s services.

However, when he got the call that he was the winner of the early bird prize in May, he was in Halifax for treatment for a heart condition at the QEII Health Sciences Centre.

His wife, Leah says it took about four days for the fact that they had won to sink in.

The retired couple says the $1.3 million cottage is beautiful and beyond their expectations but too far from Cape Breton.

They told our newsroom they will officially take ownership on June 14th and plan to list it the next day.

Leah says they won’t even spend one night in the cottage because she wants to make sure it stays just as it is for the person who gets it.