A Gawler man is laughing all the way to the bank after initially thinking his Set for Life ticket had won him just $9, only to discover it was actually worth a whopping $4.8 million.
The South Australian resident held the only division one winning entry nationally in Set for Life draw 3392, drawn Monday, 18 November 2024 and pocketed $4.8 million to be paid in monthly instalments of $20,000 for 20 years.
As the elusive winner had not joined The Lott Members Club and registered his ticket to a player card or online account, The Lott officials had no way of contacting him and had to wait for him to check his ticket and come forward.
The newly-minted millionaire unknowingly strolled through life for nine days, completely oblivious to the fact he’d won division one in Set for Life and his fortune was just waiting to be claimed.
“Yeah, not bad at all now! Just a bit shocked at the moment,” he laughed when speaking to an official from The Lott.
“Thank you so much. I never thought I’d win. I think the most I’ve ever won is about $50.
“I can’t believe I’ve been walking around with this ticket with no idea how much it’s worth.
“It’s funny, I normally check my ticket every day, but I’ve been so busy, I hadn’t got around to it until today.
“My partner helped me check my ticket. She initially said, ‘You’ve won $9.’, and then she further added, ‘Hang on, you’ve won a lot more than that!’. I had to have a look for myself.
“I couldn’t stop saying, ‘You’re joking!’.
“It’s started to really hit me now that we’re speaking, and it’s confirmed.”
When asked how he planned to enjoy his life moving forward, the gleeful man shared he would start his Set for Life journey by completely wiping out his mortgage.
“We’ve already spoken about what we’ll do with the prize. Most of the first instalments will go straight to our mortgage so we can pay it off and live debt free,” he said.
“We haven’t had a holiday in years so we’re looking forward to planning a trip now as well.”
His winning entry was purchased at Northern News, Shop 24, Gawler Central Shopping Centre, 1 Cowan Street, Gawler.
Northern News owners Tanya and Tom Lane said they were thrilled to sell a division one winning entry for the third time in three years.
“It’s awesome news!” Tanya said.
“We’ve been celebrating this exciting milestone by decorating the store with posters, streamers and balloons.
“The last time we sold a division one winning entry was in 2022, so the team and customers alike are all very excited.
“This marks our third division one win in just over three years. It looks like we have a good strike rate!
“Congratulations to the winner! Enjoy it and spoil yourself.”
The winning numbers in Set for Life draw 3392 on Monday 18 November 2024 were 29, 13, 16, 31, 30, 7 and 20, while the supplementary numbers were 38 and 22.
Across Australia, there was one division one winning entry in Set for Life draw 3392 in South Australia.
This marks the 143rd Set for Life division one winner nationally since the game began and the 18th Set for Life division one winner so far this calendar year.
The Lott’s division one winning tally has now reached 400 so far in FY24, including 28 won by SA Lotteries customers.
In FY24, there were 12 Set for Life division one winners across Australia who will receive $57.6 million during the next 20 years.
By 30 June 2024, more than $131.48 million in monthly payments of $20,000 had been paid to the 130 Set for Life division one winners across Australia.
