A hard-working Rutherford man who spent years daydreaming about overseas adventures can finally pack his bags after scoring $1,000 a week for the next five years on an Instant Scratch-Its ticket.
The Hunter Region resident’s winning $5 Live the Life Instant Scratch-Its ticket was purchased from Rutherford Marketplace Newsagency, Shop 8, Rutherford Marketplace, 1 Hillview Street, Rutherford.
It’s been a winning streak for the Hunter Region, with a Maitland man also coming forward as the area’s newest multi-millionaire after scoring a staggering $15 million prize in Oz Lotto.
When an official from The Lott called to confirm the winnings news, the chirpy man shared he was still processing the winning news days after claiming his newfound fortune.
“It’s so unbelievable!” he exclaimed.
“I’m still in shock to be honest. Initially, I read it all wrong and thought it wasn’t a winner, but then I had this realisation, and I just thought to myself, ‘Holy c***!’.
“I went straight to the newsagency to confirm with the team, and I had to make sure it was in fact a winner.
“A staff member then took me into a private room and told me that I had won a top prize. I couldn’t believe it!
“I then had my birthday days later as well, so it really was the cherry on top!
“I haven’t had a chance for any celebrations yet. I’ve pretty much worked all day and night since winning but I look forward to celebrating tomorrow!
“I’ve also never really been able to go overseas, so I’ll be saving the pennies from this win and heading over there for a holiday as soon as I can!
“Thank you very much.”
In FY25, there were 151 Instant Scratch-Its top prize winners across The Lott’s jurisdictions who collectively took home more than $12.5 million in top prizes.
During this same time, Instant Scratch-Its players enjoyed more than 25.3 million wins across all prize tiers worth more than $253 million. This equates to almost half a million winners and more than $4.8 million won on Instant Scratch-Its each week.
Every month, Instant Scratch-Its’ 2nd Chance Draw gives you another chance to turn your eligible non-winning Instant Scratch-Its into a winner. Visit thelott.com to enter this month’s 2nd Chance Draw.
The official home of Australia’s lotteries, The Lott operates and markets Australia’s leading lottery games customers know and love creating everyday winners, winning every day.
In FY25, more than 123.8 million winners took home more than $4.1 billion in prize money from their favourite games at The Lott, including select game nameSaturday Lotto, Weekday Windfall, Powerball, Oz Lotto, Set for Life, Lucky Lotteries, Keno (SA), Super 66, Lotto Strike and Instant Scratch-Its.
Last financial year, Australia’s official lotteries contributed more than $1.66 billion via state lottery taxes and donations to help community initiatives, such as hospitals, health research, disaster relief and education. As part of its commitment to supporting the community, The Lott proudly supports Play For Purpose, the not-for-profit charity raffle that gives Australians the chance to win while helping more than 500 causes across the country.