“We Couldn’t Believe It. We Were in Total Disbelief”
The husband and wife matched 4, 19, 22, 26, 27, 35 and 38 on Tuesday 28th January to take home the eight-figure windfall. The supplementary numbers were 25 and 36. There were 433,838 Oz Lotto winners on the night, and the Bathurst-based players were the only ones to match all main numbers to scoop the jackpot for themselves. Elsewhere, seven tickets in the second prize tier matched six main numbers and a supplementary number to receive just over AU$38,896 each.
The now multi-millionaires, who have decided to remain anonymous, checked their ticket on the Thursday following the draw and, after a telephone conversation with a NSW Lotteries official to confirm their win on the Friday morning, they claimed their prize later that day. Lottery winners in New South Wales have six years from the date of the draw to collect their winnings, but the duo wasted little time in collecting their prize money, doing so after just three days.
The big winners had been playing OZ Lotto for years prior to their jackpot win, and now plan to use the money to help their family financially, and take an early retirement. The man said: “My wife actually bought the ticket and I mentioned to her a couple of times during the day yesterday if she checked it and she kept telling me she hadn’t. Last night I said to her ‘go get that ticket, I’ve got a really funny feeling about it’. So she went and got the ticket and we checked our numbers online and sure enough, my gut instinct was right. We couldn’t believe it. We were in total disbelief.
“We read over the numbers more than five times to be sure but I still didn’t think it could be right. It’s really difficult to imagine, but our first priority will be to help our family. Then we will pay all our bills and think about retiring early and making some exciting plans”, he continued.
Winning Entry Bought From News on William
The couple bought their lucky ticket from News on William, a local convenience shop in Bathurst. Following the draw, news quickly spread around Bathurst that the jackpot-winning entry had been purchased in the local area.
Adrian Smith, the owner of News on William, said: “Bathurst has been buzzing with excitement. All the staff at the outlet have been holding their breath as they check Oz Lotto tickets, wondering if they’re about to break the incredible news to one of our customers. We’re so glad they’ve realised their incredibly good fortune and have claimed their prize. We wish them all the very best.”
The jackpot previously hadn’t been won since 25th December when a single ticket holder won $AU10 million, and the top prize amount had been increasing in value ever since then. After the latest win, the jackpot has now automatically reset to AU$2 million ahead of the next weekly draw on 5th February. You can choose your numbers online to be in with a chance of winning. Best of luck!