Raffle winner frees Goliath the lobster for Montreal Biodome

A Boston woman who won a giant lobster in a Super Bowl raffle is donating the marine crustacean to the Montreal Biodme.

Marlene Casciano said she was thrilled to win Goliath the lobster in a draw at Steamers, abar in Taunton, Mass., on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 3, when he was offered as a raffle prize along with T-shirts and other goodies.

"As soon as I heard they were doing that, I knew immediately what I wanted to do," Casciano said in an interview with CBC Montreal.

"He was being housed in a small tank, I went over to take a look and I knew I had to do my best to rescue him."

Although the New England Patriots were upset by the New York Giants in the NFL championship game, Cascianothought she was a winner nonetheless.

Atnine kilograms and almost a metre long, Goliath is a "gorgeous" lobster, Casciano said. "He's really enormous. He's such a sight."

She had her friend buy her a couple of tickets. "As soon as I got those, I started to pray with them in my hands. I asked God to let me win so that I could save the lobster."

After winning him, Casciano's first thought was to head to the beach and return the lobster to the ocean, "because I thought you could just toss him in the water."

But she was told that was a bad idea.

"The bar owner explained that we would need a boat, and we would need to head out into deep water and it was going to be very involved," she said.

Casciano loaded up the lobster in a large bucket of salt water on the back seat of her car and drove to the New England Aquarium to see if they wanted Goliath.

They didn't, because they already have a large lobster living at the aquarium, Casciano said.

Aquarium staff contacted the Montreal Biodme, which has been looking for a large lobster for a while, said Serge Ppin, who is in charge of aquatic collections.

"We already have some smaller lobsters, but this particular animal is really big and really impressive. The public are used to seeing a lobster at a pound [or a]pound and a half.

"This lobster is really big," he told CBC, estimating Goliath must be at least 15 years old. "A 20-pounder is really impressive."

Goliath will be transferred to Montreal later this winter, but won't keep his name because the Biodme doesn't name its residents, Ppin said.