12 August 22

Wodonga grandmother unwraps presents and $10,000 Instant Scratch-Its win on milestone birthday

By Khat McIntyre-Intrachai

Updated 15 August 2022 - 9:51 am,

first published at 12 August 2022 - 3:24 pm

A Wodonga woman’s fairytale 60th birthday celebrations has yielded an extra “sprinkle of happiness” after one of her gifts was an Instant Scratch-Its ticket worth $10,000.

The top prize winning $1 Punny Money Instant Scratch-Its ticket was purchased at My Office, 500 Collins Street, Melbourne.

Speaking with an official from The Lott earlier today, the vibrant Victorian said she was beyond grateful to her beautiful children who delivered her birthday bounty.

“I turn 60 next month, and the winning ticket was one of many gifts from my children”, she explained.

“They started a 60-day birthday countdown for me, where I unwrap a present every day until my 60th birthday.

“I wear a tiara and unwrap each gift, and then we send back a video of me opening them because none of them told each other what they got me.

“I’ve unwrapped things like cups, bedding, chocolate, all different things!

“Twenty-four days into the countdown, I unwrapped a bundle of Instant Scratch-Its.

“One of my family members scratched away for me, and when I realised one of the tickets was the top prize, I lovingly asked him to put the ticket down,” she laughed.

“I had to tell my kids immediately, they were in complete shock and so happy for me.

“I originally planned to share the win evenly with my children, but they told me that it was my birthday gift and to start building a new pergola and fix my car.

“We’ll all be together for my 60th birthday too, so we’ll celebrate then.

“We have had an incredibly tough year, and this has given us a sprinkle of happiness during a really hard time.

“I would like to thank My Office, for selling my daughter a top prize winning ticket – you’re magical.”

My Office owner Michael Yelen said selling an Instant Scratch-Its ticket that delivered a top prize to someone 300 kilometres away came as a welcome surprise to him and his team.

“You beauty!” he cheered.

“This is the most wonderful news. It’s always nice to know that you’ve made someone happy!

“Congratulations to our winner. We wish them the best and hope they enjoy their prize.”

In 2021, there were 157 Instant Scratch-Its top prize winners across The Lott’s jurisdictions who collectively took home more than $10 million in top prizes.

During this same time, Instant Scratch-Its players enjoyed more than 29.1 million wins across all prize tiers worth more than $256.26 million. This equates to almost three-quarters of a million dollars won on Instant Scratch-Its every day.

Every month, Instant Scratch-Its’ 2nd Chance Draw gives you another chance to turn your eligible non-winning Instant Scratch-Its into a winner. Visit thelott.com to enter this month’s 2nd Chance Draw.