A trio of Townsville mates, a 10-person Gympie syndicate and a mystery Bracken Ridge player have had a winning start to 2026, with each taking home a $1.6 million prize in the weekend’s Saturday Gold Lotto draw.
The Queenslanders held three of the 18 division one winning entries nationally in Saturday Gold Lotto draw 4639 on Saturday 3 January 2026. Each division one winning entry scored $1,666,666.67.
North Queensland trio shares $1.6 million Gold Lotto win
Three Townsville friends are looking forward to breathing easier in 2026 after pocketing a $1.6 million Saturday Gold Lotto win on the weekend.
The North Queensland friends purchased their winning System 10 QuickPick entry via The Lott app – the official home of Australia’s lotteries.
The private syndicate leader was oblivious to his group’s good fortune until an official from The Lott reached out on Sunday morning.
“That’s awesome! Thank you, my friend!” he exclaimed.
“There’s three of us in the group. I play all the time, but the other day I convinced my mates to get involved. I said, ‘you’ve got to be in this’.
“I can’t wait to call them now. This will mean a lot to them.
“We’ve all been struggling a bit recently so this will make life a whole lot easier.
“We’ll each get over half a million dollars! It just gives us breathing space.”
Ten Gympie players share $1.6 million Saturday Gold Lotto prize
Lottery lightning struck Gympie on the weekend, with 10 locals sharing a $1.6 million Saturday Gold Lotto prize.
The locals were part of a 10-share store syndicate, called New Year Slay, set up by Nextra Gympie, Gympie Central, Cnr Bruce Highway and Excelsior Road, Gympie.
In addition to winning division one, the syndicate’s winning System entry also won division two twice, division three 37 times and division six once, bolstering the group’s total win to $1,714,863.52.
Each member of the winning Gympie syndicate scored a prize worth $171,486.36.
While some of the winning syndicate members held registered entries and have been notified of their win, The Lott spokesperson Matt Hart said some of the group might still be unaware of their good fortune.
“We’ve been reaching out to those syndicate members who are part of The Lott Members Club and registered their tickets to their player card or online account. However, some of the syndicate members held unregistered entries and may not yet know they’re part of this winning crew,” he said.
“If you purchased a share in a store syndicate for the recent Saturday Gold Lotto draw from Nextra Gympie, today’s the day to check it!”
Check your tickets, Bracken Ridge! Mystery millionaire at large
Lottery officials are calling on Bracken Ridge residents and visitors to check their Saturday Gold Lotto tickets after a mystery player scored $1.6 million in the weekend’s draw.
If the winner had been part of The Lott Members Club and registered their ticket to a player card or online account, they would have already been alerted to their good fortune.
Instead, officials from The Lott are eagerly waiting for the ticketholder to check their ticket and come forward.
The winning entry was purchased at Bracken Ridge Post & Lotto, Shop 2, 154 Barrett Street, Bracken Ridge.
The Lott spokesperson Matt Hart said the mystery millionaire was most likely starting the week with no idea they’d pocketed a whopping $1.6 million in the weekend’s draw.
“Someone is most likely walking around completely oblivious to the fact they became an overnight millionaire on the weekend,” he said.
“While we’ve been unable to confirm the life-changing news with Queensland’s newest millionaire, we’re sure that when they check their ticket and discover their news, they’ll be jumping for joy.
“We’re encouraging anybody who purchased a Saturday Gold Lotto ticket from Bracken Ridge Post & Lotto to check their ticket as soon as possible.
“Can you imagine how exhilarating it would be to discover you were the mystery millionaire we’re searching for. Someone’s plans for the rest of 2026 and beyond could change in a heartbeat.
“Make sure you check your tickets, and if you do discover that you are holding the winning ticket, contact The Lott on 131 868 to begin the process of claiming your prize.
“This is a great reminder to all players to register their lottery tickets to a player card or online account with The Lott Members Club, so if you were to score a major prize, we can call you right away!”
The winning numbers in Saturday Gold Lotto draw 4639 on 3 January 2026 were 19, 36, 21, 10, 9 and 13, while the supplementary numbers were 39 and 2.
Across Australia, there were 18 division one winning entries in Saturday Gold Lotto draw 4639 – seven in New South Wales, three each in Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia and one each in South Australia and the ACT.
