A Sandy Bay man has had a memorable birthday, winning $25,000 on an Instant Scratch-Its ticket he received as a gift.
The winning $2 3 Of A Kind Instant Scratch-Its ticket was purchased at Sandy Bay Newsagency, 197 Sandy Bay Road, Sandy Bay.
Speaking with an official from the Lott this morning, the winner relayed the moment he made his winning discovery.
“You wouldn’t believe it but I received it as a birthday gift from a mate,” he explained.
“We were having a BBQ and I was scratching it and I had a feeling I would win something.
“I thought ‘oh mate, this is going to be good!’. I mean, I actually only thought I was going to win $50 or something like that.
“When I saw I won $25,000, I was gobsmacked! My mate was gobsmacked!
“We were jumping around the place like idiots and screaming our heads off.
“We still don’t believe it. It hasn’t sunk in.
“We will celebrate, we have to! I will get some mates around, have some pizza and some beers.”
When asked how he planned to enjoy his prize, the stoked bloke admitted he knew exactly what he was going to do.
“I am going to put it towards a house deposit,” he shared.
Sandy Bay Newsagency manager Lisa Culic said she couldn’t be happier for her winning customer.
“We are very happy,” she said.
“What a fantastic Monday he will have now!
“We wish him the best with his prize and hopes it makes some of his dreams come true.
“We have sold a few major prize winning entries in the past and we are so happy to hear we have sold another!”
In 2019, there were 199 Instant Scratch-Its top prize winners across the Lott’s jurisdictions who collectively took home more than $9.7 million in top prizes.
During this same time, Instant Scratch-Its players enjoyed more than 27.1 million wins across all prize tiers worth more than $208.8 million. This equates to more than half a million dollars won on Instant Scratch-Its every day.