Unemployed teacher 'just keeping head above water' wins Lotto

An unemployed teacher who claims he was just keeping his head above water has taken home a Saturday Lotto windfall totalling more than $671,000.

The man, incredibly from the Perth suburb of Success, nearly did not buy his weekly ticket as he was feeling unlucky that day but fortunately he waited in line at the Cockburn Gateway Lottery Centre to purchase an entry in the Saturday Lotto draw on August 11.

“The stars aligned for me that day! I’m so happy I was patient because the winning ticket was waiting for me at that very moment,” he said.

It is a welcome change of fortune for the teacher who said work had really dried up over recent months.

“The lack of work and uncertainty of being able to support myself in my imminent retirement really got me down,” he said.

“I was feeling so unlucky and down, even after I saw I had the first four numbers, I didn’t think I was a big prize winner.”

The $671,513 in prize money is set to help give him a more comfortable retirement.

• Mobile phone company accused of ‘misleading ad’ – so can you see what’s wrong?

• The amazing moment a tarantula’s egg sack is cut open

• Mother left paralysed after developing neurological disorder while pregnant

But he nearly thought it was too good to be true and asked a family who had been dining nearby to double check the numbers in the paper against his ticket for him.

“When they told me I had all six, I was trembling,” the teacher said.

“The adrenalin has soared through me and now I’m focused on how to sensibly make this money go the distance.”

And Success seems to be a lucky suburb. The man’s ticket was the third division-one ticket sold there this year.