A Moreton Bay woman is ready to hand in her resignation letter so she can live a relaxed life in the country after discovering she won the Set for Life First prize of $20,000 a month for 20 years.
The Queensland player scored the First Prize of $20,000 a month for 20 years in Set for Life draw 1678, drawn Tuesday 10 March 2020.
The ticket was unregistered, which meant officials from the Lott were unable to contact the winner and had to wait for her to come forward and claim her prize.
This afternoon an official from the Lott spoke to the winner just after she had checked her ticket and made the astonishing discovery.
“I’m in a bit of a shock,” she laughed.
“I am absolutely thrilled. It’s sensational. I never in a million years thought this would happen to me.
“I’m completely over the moon!
“When I initially saw the win come up on the screen I screamed, I had watery eyes and my legs were like jelly!
“I can feel a big cry coming, but I might save that for when I tell my husband.
“We have been through a really, really rough time lately. You can’t imagine what this will mean for us.
“I am going to take the rest of the day off work. I just want to go home and break the news to him.”
When asked how she planned to use her windfall, the humble woman said the prize meant she could enjoy quality time with her husband.
“Life’s too short. This prize will mean we can really take things easy and enjoy life,” she admitted.
“We are definitely going to retire soon.
“We have always dreamt of buying a few acres and having some animals, so we will do that.
“I’ve always wanted to live on a farm and enjoy the little things in life without stressing.
“I’m looking forward to wine dates on our porch, having lots of animals, and just staying away from the city life.”
The winning entry was purchased at Kippa-Ring Village News, Shop G27-G28, Kippa-Ring Shopping Centre, 284 Anzac Avenue, Kippa-Ring.
Kippa-Ring Village News manager Vanessa Heather said she was thrilled the winner had come forward and claimed her prize.
“I am so glad she has discovered her win,” she said.
“I can’t imagine how excited she was when she discovered it.
“We wish her all the very best with her prize and hope it changes her life.
“Fingers crossed we sell more major prize-winning tickets to our customers soon.”
Across the country, the Queensland winner held the only entry that won the First Prize in Set for Life draw 1678 on Tuesday 10 March 2020.
The winning numbers in Set for Life draw 1678 were 30, 5, 15, 6, 1, 14, 18 and 19, with the bonus numbers 32 and 4.
The Queensland winner is the 60th Set for Life First Prize winner nationally since the game began, and the sixth Set for Life First Prize winner for the year.
Between 1 January and 31 December 2019, there were 11 Set for Life First Prize winners across Australia who will receive $52.8 million during the next 20 years.
As at 31 December 2019, $29.64 million in monthly payments of $20,000 had been paid to the 54 Set for Life First Prize winners across Australia.
To find out more about our Set for Life winners visit the Lott’s website at https://www.thelott.com/set-for-life/stories/set-for-life-winners.
The home of Australia’s Official Lotteries, the Lott operates and markets Australia’s leading lottery games customers know and love creating everyday winners, winning every day.
Last financial year, more than 131.8 million winners took home more than $3.3 billion in prize money from their favourite games at the Lott, including TattsLotto, Monday and Wednesday Lotto, Powerball, Oz Lotto, Set for Life, Lucky Lotteries, Keno, Super 66, Lotto Strike and Instant Scratch-Its.
In the 12 months to 30 June 2019, Australia’s Official Lotteries contributed more than $1.4 billion via state lottery taxes and donations to help community initiatives, such as hospitals, health research, disaster relief and education