Leanne from Pimpama, who has recently become the guardian of her four grandkids, can’t wait to use her $150,000 Instant Scratch-Its win to buy a big enough home for them all to enjoy.
The Gold Coast woman purchased her winning $10 Countdown to Christmas Instant Scratch-Its ticket at Pimpama Lotto & News, Shop 14A, Pimpama City Shopping Centre, 105 Pimpama Jacobs Well Road, Pimpama.
Speaking with an official from The Lott, the overwhelmed winner confessed the win was life-changing for her family.
“Well, I was having a bad day, so I bought an Instant Scratch-Its ticket to try and cheer me up,” she shared.
“I forgot about it, and then about a week or so later, I found it again and scratched it.
“When I saw the top prize win, I didn’t believe it. It was exhilarating but completely unbelievable!
“I was jumping up and down! I screamed out to my husband, ‘Ah crap, I think I’ve won $150,000!’.
“My husband thought I’d won $150, but I knew it was $150,000. I think he was just shocked by it all.
“I’m still pinching myself. I’ve been checking the ticket non-stop. It’s just crazy.
“Hubby arranged a limo for me to go to The Lott head office to claim this prize, making it extra special.
“We’ve got four grandchildren that have been put in our care recently. So, it’s a life-changing win for us. It’s fantastic!
“We’ll use this prize for a deposit on a house. We need a bigger place for the kids! The rest we’ll use to look after them.
“So, this means the absolute world to me.
“It’s given us security for the kids, which is the most important thing. It’s come at the best time.
“I said to my husband, ‘You’re on babysitting duty tonight!’. I’m going to go to my favourite local pub and celebrate.”
Pimpama Lotto & News’ Donna Norton and Julie Clarke said their team was very excited to have sold a top prize winning Instant Scratch-Its ticket to a regular customer.
“It’s just amazing! It’s fantastic,” Donna said.
“I sold Leanne the winning ticket. There were only a few tickets left of this one, so I said to her, ‘Buy one of these! One might be the winner!’. So she did buy it.
“She was dumbfounded when she came back in to check the ticket. She just kept saying, ‘Are you sure? This is an absolute godsend!’.
“She’s such a deserving winner. We couldn’t be happy for her!
“It’s such a fantastic story. Everyone is so happy for us and the winner!
“We’ve had some big wins over the years, and we can’t wait to have another. We’ve been feeling very lucky.”
In 2021, there were 157 Instant Scratch-Its top prize winners across The Lott’s jurisdictions who collectively took home more than $10 million in top prizes.