An Earlwood man has admitted to guarding his winning Instant Scratch-Its ticket with his life, as he imagined the endless possibilities he could enjoy with the top prize of $1,000 every week for the next five years.
The winning $5 Live the Life Instant Scratch-Its ticket was purchased at Marrickville West Newsagency, 246 Wardell Road, Marrickville.
Today the Sydney resident visited NSW Lotteries to present his valuable ticket, explaining the roller coaster ride he’d been on since scratching the ticket.
“The crazy thing is, I scratched the ticket this morning, just as I was just getting ready to go to a job interview,” he explained.
“I had already planned that after the interview I’d go check the scratchie and a few other lottery tickets I had to see if I’d won anything on them.
“So I scratched it at home and instantly saw I had all three of the winning symbols and I thought ‘it can’t be’! I really didn’t think it was right!
“There was no way I could go to the interview without making sure I wasn’t seeing things!
“When I got to the newsagency they confirmed my luck!
“I really had to calm down before I went to the interview and thankfully I wasn’t late!”
The winner revealed he’d have to let the unexpected revelation sink in before he decided exactly how he’d use his prize.
“I haven’t thought quite that far yet!” he said.
“But you’ve got no idea how much this means to me! It’s come at a really good time.
“I’ve been guarding that ticket with my life!
“It’s a life saver! It’s seriously unbelievable.”
Marrickville West Newsagency owner Chong Nguyen said she was very excited for her customer.
“When the man came back in to show us he had the winning ticket he really couldn’t contain his excitement. It was a very happy moment for us,” she said.
“It’s our first big win in a little while so we hope it’s the start of a winning streak!
“Congratulations again to our winner, we wish them all the best!”
In 2018, 155 Instant Scratch-Its top prize winners collectively took home more than $14.26 million.
During this same time, 25,716,051 winners pocketed more than $205.8 million across all Instant Scratch-Its prize tiers.
Get more out of your Instant Scratch-Its by joining the Scratch eClub at www.thelott.com. The Club offers monthly Birthday Draws and Second Chance Draws, which give you another chance to win on your non-winning tickets.
The latest range of Instant Scratch-Its tickets are available now at NSW Lotteries outlets.
It can happen in an instant. It could happen to you.
