A Central Coast woman is beaming from ear to ear and looking forward to treating herself after winning one of the top prizes of $50,000 in an Instant Scratch-Its ticket.
The top prize winning $4 Under the Sea Bingo Instant Scratch-Its ticket was purchased at Charmhaven Newsagency, 17 Pacific Highway, San Remo.
This morning, an official from the Lott called to confirm the win with the woman, who was still reeling from the excitement.
“I buy an Instant Scratch-Its ticket as a little treat every week or two,” she explained.
“I have won lots of little prizes, but never anything like this!
“When I scratched it and saw I won, I was shocked. I checked it about 100 times, and then I got my husband to check it as well.
“Then I went to the newsagency, and they couldn’t pay out the prize because it was so big, so that’s when I realised it was true.
“The owner there was so excited for me. It was lovely! He made my winning experience even more amazing.
“It made me even more excited! I was very happy.
“It has put a huge smile on my face! It’s certainly cheered me up.”
When asked how she planned to enjoy her instant win, the ecstatic woman said it gave her the freedom to buy what she wanted.
“I have been through a bit of a rough time lately, so it’s come at the best time!” she admitted.
“It’s a relief and gives me some security. It’s given me a real comfortable feeling.
“I have a lot of ideas of how to spend it!
“I want to just keep it in the bank for now and buy the things I want when I see them. It will be nice to just buy something randomly without thinking about it.”
Charmhaven Newsagency owner Greg Smith said he couldn’t be happier for his regular customer.
“It was an amazing experience being able to confirm the news with the winner,” he said.
“She is very deserving, and her reaction was priceless! It’s a moment I won’t forget.
“We wish her all the best and hope she enjoys her prize.
“Being able to share that experience gave me a lift too. It put all the staff in a wonderful mood!
“Hopefully we can sell more major prize winning tickets soon.”
In 2019, there were 199 Instant Scratch-Its top prize winners across the Lott’s jurisdictions who collectively took home more than $9.7 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.
