A Townsville grandad’s dream of winning the lottery so he could help his family has become a reality after winning $1 million in Monday night’s Gold Lotto draw.

The Queenslander held the only division one winning entry in the Monday & Wednesday Gold Lotto draw, 4156, drawn on Monday, February 14.

Speaking over the phone with an official from The Lott on Tuesday morning, the down-to-earth man said the news was “amazing.”

The lucky winner explained he had had woken up in the middle of the night, so he decided to check his Gold Lotto ticket, which is when he realised he may have won the division one prize.

“But I was half asleep, so I thought I was dreaming or seeing things. It was so late at night, too! I just thought, ‘Nah, that can’t be right!’” he laughed.

When the fortunate winner awoke in the morning, he assumed the whole encounter had been a dream.

But, sure enough, when he checked the ticket again it was real and the winner was in “total disbelief.”

‘Honestly, I’m worried I might have a heart attack’

“Honestly, I’m worried I might have a heart attack. This is just incredible! I’m trying hard to keep calm and not get too worked up about it all,” he said.

The humble winner said he planned to celebrate today by taking himself out to a nice café and treating himself to an iced latte and a piece of cake.

“As soon as the money goes into my account, I’ll break the news to my family, and we can have another celebration,” he said excitedly.

When asked how he planned to spend his windfall, the Townsville native said he would share the love with his family.

“I want to use my prize to support my family. I’d love to help my siblings so they can retire earlier than planned, and I have kids and grandkids, so they’ll all get some too.”

“All I ever wanted to do if I won the lottery was help my loved ones, so that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I don’t even care about spending any of it on me, it’s all for them!” said the generous winner.

“I just want to make sure my family is okay. Anything left over I’ll use to enjoy my retirement.”

The man’s life-changing entry was purchased at Nextra Willows News, Thuringowa Central.

The winning numbers in Monday & Wednesday Gold Lotto draw 4156 were 4, 29, 11, 35, 37 and 31, while the supplementary numbers were 5 and 21.

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Lottery winning tally reaches 280 this financial year

The Lott’s division one winning tally has now reached 280 so far this financial year, including 61 won by Golden Casket customers.

In the 12 months to 30 June 2021, there were 341 division one winning Saturday Gold Lotto entries across Australia, which collectively won more than $435.21 million.

However, there are more chances to become a millionaire with tonight’s Oz Lotto offering $10 million, while Thursday’s Powerball has $80 million up for grabs.

The Lucky Lotteries Mega Jackpot prize is offering $7.01 million for draw 1560, while the Lucky Lotteries Super Jackpot prize is now $7.4 million for draw 10528.

If gambling is a problem for you go to Gambling Help Online or call 1800 858 858.

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