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A Black Forest man has delivered the understatement of the year after winning $1.1 million in a recent Keno draw, casually admitting it was “better than a poke in the eye with a blunt stick."
The South Australian resident scored the Keno Spot 10 jackpot in draw 250531 837, drawn Saturday, 31 May 2025, and can look forward to $1,112,001.90.
Amazingly, the winning man shared it was one of his first times playing Keno.
“That’s great news,” he said while speaking to an official from The Lott.
“I’ve got to say, it’s better than a poke in the eye with a blunt stick!
“How much did you say again? One point one million dollars! Amazing.
“Time to party! Just kidding, I’m too old for that now.
“I’ve been to a lot of countries in my life, so there’s a lot already ticked off my bucket list.
“Being this old, there’s a lot I can’t do, but this will really come in handy. It’ll certainly boost my retirement.
“I’ve played a lot of Lotto in my life, but this was one of the first couple of times I’ve played Keno, so it’s pretty cool.
“The lady who sold me the ticket was very nice. Thank you to you, her and the newsagency!”
His winning entry was purchased from Black Forest Post & Papershop, Shop 6, 715 South Road, Black Forest.
Black Forest Post & Papershop owner Arunn Kumar Dachepalli said he was thrilled to hear the winning news.
“It’s only been four months since we bought the business and this is the first major prize-winning ticket we’ve sold,” he said.
“As you can imagine, we’re so excited and happy.
“We’ve been putting up posters and letting all our customers know the wonderful news.
“We wish our winner an amazing future. May all your dreams be achieved with this win!”
In 2024, there were more than 5.6 million Keno wins across South Australia worth more than $130 million. This included 40 Keno Spot 8, 9 and 10 winners across South Australia who scored more than $6.49 million.
The Spot 10 prize was won three times during this period, including a $2.26 million prize won by a Paralowie woman keen to use her good fortune to help others and causes close to her heart.
Keno is a game whereby 20 numbers are randomly generated from a possible 80. To win a Keno Spot 10 prize, a player must match all 10 of the numbers selected on their ticket against the 20 numbers drawn.
The official home of Australia’s lotteries, The Lott operates and markets Australia’s leading lottery games customers know and love creating everyday winners, winning every day.
In 2024, more than 195.3 million winners took home more than $4.84 billion in prize money from their favourite games at The Lott, including Saturday X Lotto, Weekday Windfall, Powerball, Oz Lotto, Set for Life, Lucky Lotteries, Keno (SA), Super 66, Lotto Strike and Instant Scratch-Its.
Last financial year, Australia’s official lotteries contributed more than $1.8 billion via state lottery taxes and donations to help community initiatives, such as hospitals, health research, disaster relief and education.