More than two weeks after the draw, a Maribyrnong man has finally come forward to claim his $1.25 million TattsLotto win – revealing the winning ticket had been tucked away in his wallet the entire time.
There were 16 division one winning entries across Australia in TattsLotto draw 4243 on Saturday 19 March 2002. Each scored a division one prize of $1.25 million.
The Melbourne division one winning entry was unregistered, which means officials from The Lott had no way of reaching out to the winner and had to wait for them to come forward to claim their prize.
Last night, the Melburnian finally checked his ticket and realised he’d won division one.
“I can’t believe I’ve been a millionaire for weeks without realising,” he laughed when speaking with an official from The Lott.
“I’d been meaning to check the winning numbers a few weeks ago, but while I was looking to see if the winning numbers matched those on my ticket, I was distracted.
“So I just tucked the ticket back into my wallet for safekeeping and completely forgot about it.
“Last night, my wife and I were waiting for our takeaway to arrive, and I saw the ticket in my wallet again, so I decided to check it.
“I realised I was circling all the numbers on my ticket, and I was blown away. I had to double-check the ticket on The Lott app and your website. I couldn’t believe it!
“Whenever I buy a ticket, I always hope to win a few hundred dollars, but this is insane. It took so long to sink in! It was a terrific night.
“We certainly enjoyed our meal a lot better last night, knowing we’re millionaires now.
“We want to take our time to plan what to do with the money, but it’ll make our lives easier.
“I want to help our family and friends, and a few upgrades are needed around the house.
“There will be some investments, and travel is certainly on the list. We’re keen to do some nice weekends away this year.”
The winner purchased his entry at Swanston Street Lotto, Shop 3 227 Collins Street, Melbourne.
Swanston Street Lotto owner Yuan Wu said he was glad his winner had been united with their prize.
“We’ve been operating for more than 30 years, and we always get excited to sell a division one winning entry,” he said.
“We’d been eagerly waiting for our division one winner to come forward, and we’re so glad to hear that they have. Hopefully, they’ve got some exciting plans for their prize!
“This win is life-changing, so we’re very excited. We can’t wait for our next big win!”
The winning numbers in TattsLotto draw 4243 on 19 March 2022 were 32, 24, 43, 38, 10 and 34, while the supplementary numbers were 6 and 25.
