A PUNTER was celebrating what he thought was a £570,000 jackpot – until lottery officials told him he’d actually won £11.4million.
He got the life-changing phone call while still in bed – and said the first thing he’d do was have a bit more kip.
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The unnamed winner was already over the moon after checking his numbers the night before and thinking he’d won a share of Tuesday’s $20million jackpot in the Australian national lotto.
The next morning he was contacted by representatives of organisers The Lott, reports news.com.au.
“I’m still in bed right now, but I checked my Oz Lotto ticket last night while getting dinner ready, so I think I know why you’re calling,” he told the caller.
He said he thought he’d won $1million – but was stunned to be told he was the only division one winner in the country and had in fact scooped 20 times more.
The winner added: “I counted all the numbers and realised I’d won. I thought, ‘Is this true!? No way!’.
“But I thought I’d won one million dollars, not twenty million dollars. I assumed multiple people won the prize, not just me.”
The man bought his winning System 8 entry at a newsagents in Melbourne suburb Tullamarine.
Owner Sasha Kulincevic and his entire team were celebrating last night.
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“We were thrilled when we found out,” he said.
“We’ve been sharing the news with all our customers, and they’re all excited and hoping they’re next.”
Meanwhile, the man who claimed the top prize was very clear on his priorities.
“I haven’t celebrated yet,” he told The Lott officials.
“Once I get off the phone with you, I will go back to bed and have a nice sleep in.
“But then I’ll call my family and share the news with them, and I’m sure they’ll want to do something.
“I’m still renting, so I’ll use the prize to buy myself a house. I also want to help my family and travel around the country.”
In February we told how a man in New South Wales won £34million – and still went to work the next day.
Another lucky punter last August went to bed having no idea they were sitting on a £43million fortune.
The contact information on the entry was incomplete, so officials could not trace the winner to share the good news.
It turned out to be a cleaner who had lost his job during the pandemic and was struggling to support his kids.
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