Sun, May 15, 2011 - 12:00 am
Northern Beaches player's Saturday Lotto wave comes in
2 min read
The Northern Beaches region of Sydney has seen a share of the 8 January $4 million Saturday Lotto jackpot prize wash in, sharing the jackpot with 5 other winners around Australia, each taking home $698,682.12.
The Sydney winner was a 63-year old man, who has gone close to a big win in previous draws.
“Saturday was the first time I ever watched the Lotto draw on TV, some friends popped in on Saturday night and as I was changing channels I came across the Lotto draw, I didn’t even realise my numbers were coming up as I saw them. There were a lot of firsts that night, it was also the first time my son stayed in on a Saturday night,” the father of two joked.
“I’ve come close to winning a few times recently; I’ve had four numbers then five numbers. When I checked my ticket I couldn’t believe it. I called to my friend to come and have a look and she said, ‘geez, do I have to look at how close you got again.’
“I was so excited I said, ”look at this, how much closer do I need to get? That’s exactly what I said, it was funny,” the security industry worked laughed.
“I found out on Sunday afternoon that I was one of six winners, once I knew how much I’d won I celebrated with champagne. I still haven’t decided what to do really. I won’t retire yet, but this will certainly help me when I do. I plan to help a friend who needs help with a few things and plan a holiday for myself in a few months,” the winner added.
Even though he has finally has a big win, he will continue to play Lotto using the same numbers, even after his windfall.
“I’ve been playing these numbers for three or four years now, but have been playing Lotto a lot longer than that. I bought this ticket on-line, sometimes I buy them on-line and sometimes from the newsagency. I’ll still play, you just never know,” the winner laughed.
The other players sharing the $4 million jackpot, winning $698,682.12, were two winning players in Western Australia, and one each in Victoria, Queensland and South Australia.