Almost a month after the draw, a Newcastle man has today come forward to claim his $4.8 million Set for Life prize, explaining the winning ticket had been tucked inside his wallet the entire time.
The New South Wales man held the only division one winning entry nationally in Set for Life draw 2256, drawn Saturday 9 October 2021. He takes home the prize of $4.8 million, paid in instalments of $20,000 a month for 20 years.
The winning entry was unregistered, which means officials from The Lott had no way of contacting the winner to break the life-changing news. Instead, they had to wait for him to come forward to claim his prize.
Today, the winner came forward to claim his prize, explaining he usually registered his lottery tickets to a player card, but had forgotten on this occasion.
“This ticket has just been in my wallet, and the other day I came across it again and thought I’d better check it,” he laughed.
“I couldn’t believe it when I saw I’d won division one. I checked the ticket over and over again because I wanted to make sure it was true.
“It’s funny, because on the day I bought this ticket, I just had this overwhelming feeling that I was going to win division one. I am so glad I bought this ticket because I really did win!”
After trying to “manifest” a lottery win for years, the family man admitted he’s in celebration mode after finally scoring division one.
“I follow the law of attraction and have done for years, and so I really feel as though I manifested this win,” he shared.
“I even wrote a list including all of the things I would do if I ever won division one.
“The first thing I planned to do was look after my family. We are going to live a really luxurious lifestyle!
“Then I want to donate to a number of charities that are close to my heart. I always said if I did win, that I would need to give back. I already know exactly which charities I am donating to.
“This is a life-changing win! I am so grateful!”
The winning entry was purchased at Nina's IGA Hamilton, 73 Beaumont Street, Hamilton.
Nina's IGA Hamilton manager Eleni Kiriakidis said she was glad to hear her division one winner had claimed his prize.
“It’s fantastic news! We were so excited when we heard we’d sold the winning ticket and now we’re even happier to hear it’s been claimed,” she said.
“This was our first division one win, so it was a big moment for us!
“We really hope our winner enjoys his prize and gets to do all of the things he always dreamed of. Congratulations to him!
“Hopefully, we have another big win here soon.”
The winning numbers in Set for Life draw 2256 on Saturday 9 October 2021 were 44, 32, 6, 36, 39, 2 and 10, while the supplementary numbers were 20 and 14.
Across Australia, there was one division one winning entry in Set for Life draw 2256 – one from New South Wales.
This marks the 87th Set for Life division one winner nationally since the game began and the 17th Set for Life division one winner so far this calendar year.
The Lott’s division one winning tally has now reached 393 so far this calendar year, including 119 won by NSW Lotteries customers.
In the 12 months to 30 June 2021, there were 16 Set for Life division one winners across Australia who will receive $76.8 million during the next 20 years.
By the end of FY21, $53.8 million in monthly payments of $20,000 had been paid to the 79 Set for Life division one winners across Australia since 2015.