Man's absentminded error ends up winning him $33 million
An Australian man is more than $30 million richer after he accidentally purchased two Oz Lotto tickets with the same numbers — that then went on to win the division one Jackpot.
The mystery winner, described by Oz Lotto as a “hard working man from St. Albans” in Victoria, won $46.6 million ($US33 million) in the Tuesday draw but was even more shocked when he realized he won on two tickets.
And he’s even considering slowing down at work.
The man used the same numbers all the time, but in error bought the same entry twice, thinking one was for the week prior.
The Lott spokeswoman Bronwyn Spencer broke the news to the Melbourne man over the phone and it took a while for the reality to sink in.
It is a mistake that has earned him millions of dollars.
The lucky winner man was just beginning to realize he had claimed a division one prize of $23.3 million ($US16.5 million) when staff from The Lott called — but he had no idea the other ticket was also a winner.
“You’re kidding,” he told them. “Am I seeing things? I just checked my entry online and I think I know what you’re about to tell me.
“I’m speechless. I can’t believe it … I just finished work for the night.”
It was then he was told he had doubled his winnings, to $46.6 million ($US33 million).
The man had been playing the same numbers every week for 30 years.
“I have always marked my entries but I have never chosen the numbers on anything in particular,” he said. “They weren’t special before, but they are now.”
The newest multi-millionaire planned to share his winnings with those he loved and would think about retiring.
“First maybe a new home or a holiday,” he said. “I’ll definitely share it with my family.”
The man purchased one ticket at Winning Lotteries St. Albans and the other at Footscray Lottery Centre.
The St. Albans store co-owner Seang Tay said the shop had sold four division one winners over the past four months.
“We’re pretty lucky. Maybe it’s the feng shui,” Tay said. “We’ve had a bump in sales, a bump in happy customers.
“I haven’t personally won yet, but I’ll keep trying.”
James Koay, owner of Footscray Lottery Centre, loves when people win off tickets bought at his store. “We’re so happy for the winner,” he said.
The third ticket was bought in Hobart by an unregistered player, meaning lottery officials have no way to contact the ticketholder and must wait for them to check their ticket and discover the win for themselves.
It was purchased at Hobart City Lotto in Hobart.
Spencer said she urged any Hobart resident or visitor who purchased an entry into this week’s $70 million Oz Lotto draw to check their tickets as soon as possible.
“Imagine discovering you’re a midweek multi-millionaire,” she said.
“You may not think it’s possible that you could be the division one winner we’re searching for, but if you purchased an unregistered entry in this week’s Oz Lotto draw that you haven’t checked yet, you’re in with a chance.”
The winning numbers were 12, 28, 24, 29, 9, 18 and 25, and the supplementary numbers are 13 and 31.
The jackpot swelled for the seventh week in a row after no one picked the winning numbers in last Tuesday’s $50 million ($US35 million) draw. At $70 million ($US50 million), it’s the game’s biggest jackpot so far this year and the third highest Australian lottery offer in 2019.
“So far this year, only one entry has snagged the sought-after Oz Lotto division one prize,” The Lott spokesman Matt Hart said last week.
To win the top prize, players must pick all seven winning numbers. The chance of winning with one game is just one in 45,379,620, while the chance of winning with a 12-game entry is one in 3,781,635.
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