A hard-working small business owner in his 50s from North Melbourne has confessed to feeling like he is in ‘la la land’ after becoming an overnight millionaire.
The happy man held one of three division one winning entries across Australia in Monday & Wednesday Lotto draw 3859, drawn Wednesday 10 April 2019. Each winning entry takes home the guaranteed prize of $1 million.
As well as winning the coveted division one prize, the ecstatic winner’s System 9 QuickPick entry also won division three 18 times and division four 45 times, bolstering his total prize to $1,011,718.90.
Sharing his joy with a Tatts official this morning, the regular player was driving to work when he received the life-changing call but immediately pulled over to have his win confirmed.
“I was expecting your call so I had to pull over so I could answer!” he laughed.
“I found out last night because I have the Lott app. I checked the numbers and sort of freaked out! I started crying I’m not ashamed to say.
“It’s just so awesome. I feel like I am in ‘la la land’ at the moment.
“I grab a few lottery tickets every week from the fantastic team at Hotham Hill Post & Lotto and I just can’t believe my numbers have come up.”
When asked how he planned to enjoy his Monday & Wednesday Lotto windfall, the happy man revealed he would take his family on a once-in-a-lifetime holiday to Europe.
“I always had some ideas of what I would do with a windfall but I think the notion of being debt free is surreal,” he said.
“We’ll pay off the mortgage and pay off some bills, which will be fantastic. It will still leave us a bit extra to live a little more comfortably.
“We’ve always wanted to travel to Europe. I promised my family one day we’d go to Greece and I think now we can make that happen.
“I’d love to experience the front end of the plane too!”
Despite hearing the million-dollar news on his way to work, the winner revealed he had no plans to retire early.
“I enjoy my work so I think I’ll stick to it for a bit and see what happens,” he laughed.
“I’ll have to let it all sink in! My wife is in absolute shock, but she loves her work too so won’t give that up either!
“It is just fantastic! Definitely life-changing!”
The thrilled winner, who wishes to remain anonymous, purchased his System 9 QuickPick entry at Hotham Hill Post & Lotto, 39 Melrose Street, North Melbourne.
Hotham Hill Post & Lotto owner Pelle Lejdevik said he was rejoicing at the excellent news that his outlet had sold a division one winning entry.
“It’s always wonderful selling a winning ticket but especially wonderful when it is a division one winning entry!” he exclaimed.
“I shared the news with my team and they are all very excited as this is the first time we’ve sold a division one winning entry. We’re definitely going to celebrate somehow!
“The news will bring a lot of chit chat into the store today. We are a small local post and lottery shop so we expect it to be the talk of the town for a few days.
“It is the first division one winning entry we’ve sold since taking over the store in 2014. Prior to that, there was a division one winning entry sold here in 2013.
“We hope there will be more division one winning entries sold here in the future!
“Good luck to the winner! We hope the money brings his dream to reality.” In 2018, Monday & Wednesday Lotto and TattsLotto created 194 millionaires across Australia.
The winning numbers in Monday & Wednesday Lotto draw 3859 on Wednesday 10 April 2019 were 11, 28, 22, 36, 37 and 34, while the supplementary numbers were 29 and 2.
Across Australia, there were four division one winning entries in Monday & Wednesday Lotto draw 3859.
The Lott’s division one winning tally has now reached 98 so far this calendar year, including 45 won by Tatts customers.
In the 12 months to 31 December 2018, there were 69 division one winning Monday & Wednesday Lotto entries across the Lott’s jurisdictions, which collectively won $62 million.