$3.8m lotto winner unknowingly had ticket in wallet for three weeks
A southern Sydney man went to pick up a few things from the shops and returned home a multi-millionaire after checking his lotto ticket to reveal a life-changing result.
The Riverwood resident had no idea he held the winning $3.88 million ticket for the Lucky Lotteries Super Jackpot in his wallet for three weeks.
The lucky man, who wished to remain anonymous, said he hadn’t found the time until now to check his ticket in the July 2 draw, which he purchased from Riverwood Newsagency.
He popped into the shops this afternoon and realised the shock of his life.
While he normally registered his Lucky Lotteries entries to a NSW Players Club card, the overwhelmed winner confessed he forgot when he bought this ticket, so NSW Lotteries had no way to contact him.
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“Thank you! It’s very difficult to believe, mate. It’s very difficult to believe that,” he exclaimed when a NSW Lotteries official confirmed his Lucky Lotteries windfall.
“I’ve just been to the shops and I thought I’d go and check my tickets in my wallet as I hadn’t done that in a while. When I checked this ticket, the guy behind the counter said ‘You are the lucky winner!’
“Mate, it’s amazing.”
The family man said he had yet to decide how he would use his new fortune, but looked forward to treating his family and possibly enjoying some overseas travel.
Riverwood Newsagency owner John Zhang said he was relieved the winner had finally been united with the massive Lucky Lotteries prize.
“We’ve found him! Finally!” he said.
“He came in to check his tickets and then I saw his ticket was the winning one! I still don’t think he believes it!
Until now, the winnings had been Australia’s largest unclaimed lottery prize.
