A Castlemaine man received more than just a cake for his birthday this year, winning one of the top prizes of $10,000 on an Instant Scratch-Its ticket he received as a gift.
The winning $1 Lots O’ Luck Instant Scratch-Its ticket was purchased at Castlemaine Newsagency, Shop 1, 45 Mostyn Street, Castlemaine.
Speaking to an official from the Lott this morning, the Victorian relayed the moment he discovered he was an Instant Scratch-Its top prize winner.
“I received the ticket as a gift for my birthday from my sister in law,” he shared.
“I was sitting outside on the back patio, just having a relax and decided to scratch the tickets.
“I couldn’t believe it when I won! I was taken aback. I was honestly gobsmacked.
“I thought my sister in law could’ve been pranking me or something!
“I headed straight down to the newsagency to have it checked because I never thought something like this would happen to me.
“You can probably imagine how happy I was when they said it was real.
“I called my sister in law straight after and she started crying for me! She was so happy.
“It’s a wonderful surprise and one of the best birthday gifts I have ever received.”
When asked how he planned to enjoy his instant win, the birthday boy admitted all he could think of was his family.
“I have everything I really want in life,” he explained.
“I will buy something for my wife and my sister in law.
“I did go out for a very nice lunch to celebrate too. But I don’t know what I will do with the rest.”
The team at Castlemaine Newsagency are thrilled for their winning customer.
“Isn’t it fantastic news?” one team member said.
“We are so happy for our winner!
“We wish him all the best and hope he enjoys his prize.
“Hopefully this is the start of a winning streak.”
In 2019, there were 114 Instant Scratch-Its top prize winners across the Lott’s jurisdictions who collectively took home more than $9.61 million in top prizes.
During this same time, Instant Scratch-Its players enjoyed more than 27.1 million wins across all prize tiers worth more than $208.8 million. This equates to more than half a million dollars won on Instant Scratch-Its every day.