Aussie dad's generous act after $100,000 birthday scratch card win
The man's son bought him a $5 Scratch-It card as a gift which won him the top prize.
An Aussie dad's birthday gift has earned him a mega $100,000 fortune with an Instant Scratch-It bought by his son landing him the grand prize.
Grateful and shocked after learning of his impressive win from the $5 Wheel of Fortune scratchie, the Melbourne man agreed to split the winnings with his loving and thoughtful son — with each of them walking away with fifty grand.
Speaking to lottery officials after hearing the news, the bewildered son revealed how the winning ticket came to be. He said he was passing through Bacchus Marsh, a town in Victoria, where he was visiting for a wedding.
"We were running really late, but we stopped at [the] Newsagency to get a wedding card. That was the main reason we stopped," he said. "While we were there, I bought Dad this Instant Scratch-Its ticket as a present for his birthday".
Dad agrees to split birthday winnings with son
That spontaneous act has made him $50,000 richer — and his thankful parents too. The man said he received a phone call from his elated father sharing that he'd won.
"Dad called me and said, 'I’ve won! I’ll split it with you!'. So Dad’s given me half," said the man from Wyndham Vale, describing the turn of events as "crazy" and "pretty wild".
His elderly parents were just as shocked with the prize money, at first thinking they'd won $10,000, one-tenth of the prize amount.
"My mum read the ticket after he’d scratched it and thought he’d won $10,000. But then my sister checked the ticket and realised it was actually $100,000," the chuffed son told The Lott. "I was blown away. We just couldn’t believe it. What are the chances?!"
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Surprise win has 'come at a good time' for shocked son
Unable to believe his luck, the Wyndham Vale man said while his "parents are going to enjoy" their new-found fortune, he and partner will use their share towards a house deposit, and get out of the rental market.
He said the extra money has "come at a good time" and it was "just a case of being in the right place at the right time."
In 2023, there were 144 Instant Scratch-Its top prize winners across The Lott’s jurisdictions who collectively took home more than $12.1 million in top prizes. During this same time, Instant Scratch-Its players enjoyed more than 26.76 million wins across all prize tiers worth more than $249.17 million. This equates to more than half a million winners a week and about $700,000 won on Instant Scratch-Its every day.
If gambling is a problem for you go to Gambling Help Online or call 1800 858 858.
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