When the former head of Canada's leading marijuana legalisation party won $25 million (£19million) with a chance lottery ticket, Bob Erb knew exactly what he would do with the money.
One of Erb's first acts was donating a $1-million chunk of that to 420 Day, which promotes marijuana legalisation. Then, he became known for helping his fellow community members, giving out huge tips, and writing so many checks that an email phishing scam once used his name.
Bob Erb from Terrace, British Columbia, shared a massive $50-million prize with a group of oil workers in Alberta in 2012. He was on the way home to a funeral, as the story goes.
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Bob Erb has given strangers thousands of dollars, financed the joints at 420 rallies, and invested heavily in his own community (Lotto Max)"I just went in, checked the lottery ticket - 25 and a whole bunch of zeroes," Erb recounted to CBC News. "I pulled the ticket out (of the machine) and I said, 'Oh my God. I think I won $25 million.'"
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It was a stroke of luck that he even had the winning ticket. En route to his father's funeral in Calgary, Erb stopped at a gas station, where a clerk's mix-up led to him getting an extra ticket. "He (cashier) was going to delete that one. I said 'I might as well take it, it might be the one,'" Erb shared with The Standard, his local newspaper.
A seasonal construction worker, Erb has no plans to quit his job despite his windfall. He told cameras that his spending plans included charity, family, and a cause close to his heart: "the legalisation, decriminalisation of marijuana," in 2012, and has held tight to that promise in the decade since his win.
Bob Erb spent quite a bit of his lottery winnings on getting herb legalized in Canada (CBC NEWS)Erb is no stranger to cannabis activism, having run for the B.C. Marijuana Party in the 2001 provincial election. He came in third place with 810 votes in the Skeena district, while the winner secured 8,653 votes.
A year after his win, Erb gathered his own at the courthouse on Saturday afternoon to take part in events financed by local lottery millionaire and weed legalisation activist Bob Erb. It was Terrace's first 4/20 rally, featuring plenty of public puffery. "This wouldn't happen if there wasn't somebody who won a great deal of money and is able to afford to bring people into town to speak," stated Skeena MLA Robin Austin.
The generous financier, Erb, coughed up over $100,000 for similar cannabis events across Canada, all funded by his stupendous $25 million Lotto Max win in 2012. As per the one-of-a-kind 4/20 tradition, an ample amount of joints will be shared around at the courthouse, confirmed Erb.
Erb made headlines again a few years later, when he left an astonishing tip of $10,000 at a restaurant. The recipient, Cliff Luther, was so taken aback that Erb ended up flipping his own burger due to Luther's emotional state.
Erb and his girlfriend, Jenny, had stopped at Luther's restaurant, the Old West Express, while on a journey from their home in Terrace, B.C., to Yellow Grass, Sask., for the interment of Erb's father's ashes.
During their meal, Luther noticed the pin on Erb's jacket advocating for marijuana legalisation, and they struck up a conversation. "He was telling me how he thinks legalising marijuana is the way to go, you know, which was interesting," Luther recalled.
Erb became quickly known for his generosity (CBC NEWS)The conversation took a personal turn when Luther mentioned his 25-year-old daughter, who was in B.C. and had recently been diagnosed with cancer.
Erb, speaking from his home after the news about the tip made it around town, confessed that the story struck a chord with him, having lost his own son, aged 26, four and a half years ago. "He was emotional about it, just as any parent would be in that kind of situation," Erb shared.
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Erb was also impressed by Luther's "open-mindedness, and how he was just looking to talk and to learn about things from another perspective." A few days later, on his journey back home, Erb decided to stop by again and order another meal.
"He asked for a pen and said: 'Here, you can just take the bill out of that,'" Luther remembered. "It was a cheque for $10,000. He just kind of said, 'If you need to get out there quickly, this will help you.'"
"It certainly lightens the load for us," Luther expressed. "You kind of think, 'why would someone do that for somebody they don't even know? It's really lifted my spirits. There are just some really caring people out there." While legalising pot isn't something on Luther's own agenda, he mentioned that Erb "seems like a pretty good fellow."
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