A Cleveland woman is planning to splurge during her trip to Africa after discovering she held one of the top prizes of $10,000 on a $1 Merry Christmas Instant Scratch-Its ticket.
The retired woman purchased her winning Instant Scratch-Its ticket at Bloomfield Street News, Shop 3, 113 - 115 Bloomfield Street, Cleveland.
Speaking to a Golden Casket official today, the ecstatic player revealed how she came to receive her winning Instant Scratch-Its ticket.
“We had an early Christmas dinner last night and there were all these scratchies on the table for us all to enjoy while we were sitting around, and I picked this one,” she said while laughing.
“When I initially scratched the ticket, I didn’t believe it. I got the magnifying glass out and made us all triple check it.
“We were in total shock at first!
“We didn’t get too excited until the newsagent confirmed it today – because it just didn’t feel real yet.”
The happy woman shared her instant win meant she could finally tick off an item on her bucket list.
“We are going to Africa tonight,” she explained.
“The money will pay for a helicopter tour that we have been dreaming of doing in Africa.
“We weren’t going to do it, once you pay for everyone to go on it, it’s really expensive. But now we actually can!
“I probably won’t be returning to Africa again, so I am so glad we can do this.
“This is the icing on the cake! We had Christmas last night, we’re heading to Africa today and now we’ve won $10,000!
“It’s all come at once! I don’t think it can get much better than this.”
Bloomfield Street News manager Karen Merritt said the outlet was thrilled to have made one of their customers $10,000 richer, in the lead up to Christmas.
“She came in and saw us! We were so glad to congratulate her in person,” she said.
“It’s great timing with Christmas just around the corner. It will definitely make for an even better Christmas, especially since she is going on a trip overseas.
“We are so excited to have sold the winning ticket!
“We hope this gets the ball rolling and we have some more wins soon!”
Last financial year, there were 158 Instant Scratch-Its top prize winners across the Lott’s jurisdictions who collectively took home more than $11.28 million.
The latest range of Instant Scratch-Its tickets are available at Golden Casket outlets.
It can happen in an instant. It could happen to you.
