A young Gladstone tradie says he couldn’t stop sweating and shaking when he discovered he was suddenly $200,000 richer after scratching one of the top prizes on an Instant Scratch-Its ticket.
The winning $15 ticket was purchased at newsXpress Kin Kora, Shop 27, Kin Kora Centre, Cnr Dawson Hwy & Philip Street, Gladstone.
Sharing his disbelief with an official from the Lott this morning, the Queensland man revealed it was the first Instant Scratch-Its ticket he’d bought in years.
“I still don’t really believe it!” he laughed.
“I scratched the ticket at home, and I thought I’d somehow done it wrong.
“I took it into the newsagency to get them to check it for me.
“They told me I was right! I wasn’t losing it after all.
“So much was going through my mind. I was shaking. I was sweating. I couldn’t believe it!
“I hadn’t bought a scratchie in years, so I was blown away. It’s crazy.”
When asked how he thought he might enjoy his instant windfall, the Gladstone man said he’d be using it to set himself up for the future.
“I’m going to buy myself a house,” he shared.
“I’ll really be able to get ahead, and I’ll also be able to help my mum out, that will be a great feeling.
“I think I’ll need some time off work to celebrate!”
newsXpress Kin Kora owner Ian Chapman said it was great to see one of his customers take home a life-changing prize.
“It’s fabulous!” he exclaimed.
“This is great news for not just our customer but also for the entire community.
“We’ve sold quite a few top prizes over the years, and it’s always exciting.
“Congratulations to him! We are sure he’s thrilled.”
Between 1 July 2019 and 30 June 2020, there were 151 Instant Scratch-Its top prize winners across the Lott’s jurisdictions who collectively took home more than $11.8 million in top prizes.
During this same time, Instant Scratch-Its players enjoyed more than 29.1 million wins across all prize tiers worth more than $235.25 million. This equates to more than half a million dollars won on Instant Scratch-Its every day.