A Bli Bli couple might not have won their game of golf on the weekend, however, they did walk away with an extra $1,000 a week for five years after scoring the top prize on an Instant Scratch-Its ticket.
The top prize winning $5 Live the Life Instant Scratch-Its ticket was purchased at Infinity News Bli Bli, Shop 8 River Markets, 314-328 David Low Way, Bli Bli.
Speaking with an official from The Lott this morning, the Sunshine Coast man explained how the couple discovered their instant win.
“We have a little tradition of playing a game of golf and then going and buying a few Instant Scratch-Its tickets,” he explained.
“We usually win a few dollars here and there, but we’ve never won anything big before.
“My partner had scratched her tickets already and was sitting beside me waiting for me to finish mine.
“I had scratched two Live the Life symbols but was almost finished scratching the ticket and so I thought ‘oh, well, this isn’t a winner’.
“But then I finished scratching the ticket and saw I actually had all three symbols.
“I couldn’t believe it. It was surreal.
“I didn’t tell my partner, I just asked her to check the ticket for me.
“She actually didn’t realise at first, she’d thought we’d won $1,000 and was so excited, but then I told her to look at it again.
“We went absolutely berserk after that! There were plenty of profanities and lots of screaming and cheering.
“We’ve been feeling nervous waiting for the prize to be paid.
“It’s so exciting.
“This is a dream!”
When asked how he planned to enjoy his windfall, the stoked bloke said he couldn’t wait to live life to the fullest.
“We have a fair bit to do around the house,” he declared.
“There are certain jobs I have been putting off doing because I hate doing them, but now I don’t have to! Instead, I am going to pay someone to do them for me.
“We will go on a few holidays around Australia too and visit all of our family.”
Infinity News Bli Bli manager Sue Stephens said she the entire team was celebrating the win.
“It’s fantastic news,” she said.
“The winners are locals and regular customers, so we couldn’t be more thrilled.
“It’s great news for our local community too!
“We haven’t had a major win in a while, so we really hope this is the start of a winning streak.
“We are really happy for our winners and wish them all the best with our prize.”
In 2020, there were 177 Instant Scratch-Its top prize winners across The Lott’s jurisdictions who collectively took home more than $16 million in top prizes.
During this same time, Instant Scratch-Its players enjoyed more than 32.3 million wins across all prize tiers worth more than $281.17 million. This equates to more than three-quarters of a million dollars won on Instant Scratch-Its every day.
Another way to play!
Every month, the Instant Scratch-Its 2nd Chance Draw gives you another chance to turn your eligible non-winning Instant Scratch-Its into a winner.
Visit thelott.com to enter this month’s 2nd Chance Draw, check out the latest Instant Scratch-Its tickets, and read inspiring stories from real winners.
The home of Australia’s Official Lotteries, The Lott operates and markets Australia’s leading lottery games customers know and love creating everyday winners, winning every day.
In 2020, more than 111.6 million winners took home more than $3.33 billion in prize money from their favourite games at The Lott, including Saturday Gold Lotto, Monday & Wednesday Gold Lotto, Powerball, Oz Lotto, Set for Life, Lucky Lotteries, Keno, Super 66, Lotto Strike and Instant Scratch-Its.
Last financial year, Australia’s Official Lotteries contributed more than $1.4 billion via state lottery taxes and donations to help community initiatives, such as hospitals, health research, disaster relief and education.