A Ringwood man who purchased a $5 Pac-Man Instant Scratch-It on a whim is today celebrating his bank account ballooning by $100,000 after he scratched one of the top prizes on the game.
The happy winner purchased his winning entry from Burnt Bridge News & Lotto, Shop 8, 434 Maroondah Highway, Croydon.
“I don’t usually buy scratchies, but when I was at the newsagent putting on my lotto I thought I’d grab one,” the winner explained.
“I originally pointed to one of the other $5 Instant Scratch-Its in the dispenser but then I saw the Pac-Man one there and decided to go for that one.
“It caught my eye because my son loves playing the game!
“I went home and scratched it and couldn’t believe what I saw. I changed my glasses and had another look but I still couldn’t believe it.
“I had to head down to the newsagent to double check it as I thought I was going mad.
“They said it was a legitimate win and only then did I believe it! It’s amazing!”
The thrilled man and his wife plan to put their $100,000 windfall towards building their dream holiday home.
“We have been hoping to build a holiday house for a while now and now that plan is going to happen a bit sooner than we thought, which is just fantastic!” he exclaimed.
“We have had a bit of a bad luck run lately so now we feel like our fortune has changed.
“This win brings us such good fortune and we don’t want to be greedy but we might keep trying our luck!”
Burnt Bridge News & Lotto owner Alan Henderson said he was thrilled to be the one to have sold the winning Instant Scratch-Its ticket.
“We are so pleased to have sold a winner!” he laughed.
“It couldn’t have gone to a nicer bloke and I am so pleased a local family will enjoy such a big prize.
“$100,000 will certainly come in handy!
“We’ve only been here since November so it’s great to have sold our first major prize since taking on the store!”
Last financial year, there were 158 Instant Scratch-Its top prize winners across the Lott’s jurisdictions who collectively took home more than $11.28 million.
The latest range of Instant Scratch-Its tickets are available now at Tatts outlets.
It can happen in an instant. It could happen to you.
