Two young Waratah brothers are swapping their suits for their suitcases, with plans to travel around the world after discovering they had won $4.8 million in last night’s Set for Life draw.
The Newcastle residents held the only division one winning entry nationally in Set for Life draw 2274, drawn Wednesday 27 October 2021. They take home the prize of $4.8 million, paid in instalments of $20,000 a month for 20 years.
Speaking with an official from The Lott this afternoon, the young duo explained how the excitement unfolded.
“We actually found out last night,” one of the brothers explained.
“I had woken up in the middle of the night and I could not get back to sleep, so I was just playing on my phone when I decided to check our ticket.
“I couldn’t believe it when I saw we had won. I thought I was dreaming so I called my brother straight away to double check.
“The first thing he said was, ‘What’s wrong? No one calls at midnight unless something bad has happened!’.
“I was very happy to tell him that was not the case! I made him check our ticket to be sure.
“We were so gobsmacked! It’s just unreal. You dream of this happening, but you never think it actually will.
“We both couldn’t sleep after that, so my brother came over and we had a few drinks.
“We wanted to celebrate, but we also needed something to calm us down.
“There were butterflies in our stomach. It’s crazy!
“We both took the day off today and we will go out for a nice dinner and some drinks tonight to celebrate some more.”
When asked how they planned to enjoy their windfall, the jolly men said they had one thing in mind.
“Well, we’ve been in lockdown for so long, so we want to get out and have some fun!” the winning man continued.
“We are young, so this gives us an opportunity to really live life to the fullest.
“There’s going to be lots and lots of travel for the both of us.
“I am sure we will do a lot more things with our prize, but we still don’t really believe it yet.”
Their winning entry was purchased at Waratah LPO & Newsagency, Shop 9 Waratah Shopping Village, 91 Turton Road, Waratah.
Waratah LPO & Newsagency owner Michael Phillips said he was ecstatic to hear his winners had discovered the exciting news.
“It’s just fantastic news,” he said.
“We are so glad they came back in here to check their ticket. The team were thrilled to be a part of their winning moment. It was incredible.
“We really hope they enjoy their prize, and we hope we can deliver more division one wins to some of our customers soon.
“It’s just such a great win for the store, our winners and the community.”
This is the second Set for Life division one prize to land in Newcastle this month.
On Saturday 9 October 2021, another Newcastle player scored division one in Set for Life draw 2256. This prize has yet to be claimed. This winning unregistered entry was purchased at Nina's IGA Hamilton, 73 Beaumont Street, Hamilton.
If a player discovers they’re holding a winning ticket, they should contact The Lott on 131 868 to confirm their win and start the prize claim process.
The Lott reminds players of the importance of registering their tickets to a player card or online account so their prizes are secure, and they can be contacted directly if they win division one.
The winning numbers in Set for Life draw 2274 on Wednesday 27 October 2021 were 42, 24, 15, 9, 30, 38 and 11, while the supplementary numbers were 3 and 14.
Across Australia, there was one division one winning entry in Set for Life draw 2274 – one from New South Wales.
This marks the 87 Set for Life division one winner nationally since the game began and the 17 Set for Life division one winner so far this calendar year.
The Lott’s division one winning tally has now reached 382 so far this calendar year, including 116 won by NSW Lotteries customers.
In the 12 months to 30 June 2021, there were 16 Set for Life division one winners across Australia who will receive $76.8 million during the next 20 years.
By the end of FY21, $53.8 million in monthly payments of $20,000 had been paid to the 79 Set for Life division one winners across Australia since 2015.