Gold Coast teacher wins nearly $1m in US lottery

An Aussie teacher has woken up to a life-changing phone call after buying a ticket in an overseas lottery.

A Gold Coast teacher is nearly a million dollars richer after winning a US lottery. Picture: iStock

An Australian teacher has woken up just a few thousand short of being a millionaire after winning on the US lotto.

On Monday, a 61-year-old Gold Coast man received a call from The Lottery Office, telling him he’d won $897,827 in Sunday’s USA Power Lotto but missed out on a billion dollar prize by one number.

The second division prize in The Lottery Office’s draw, which is matched with the US Powerball, was just a single number off winning the billion dollar first division prize.

The stunned man said he would use the winnings to pay off his mortgage, and to finance an expensive operation scheduled for later in the month.

“This is the dream,” the man said.

He received the life-changing phone call as he was getting ready to teach a class on Monday morning, and he was overwhelmed saying he had not checked the winning numbers.

“I only signed up with The Lottery Office on Saturday after seeing one of their ads and I only spent $21 on tickets,” he said.

“I had no idea I had won.

A Gold Coast teacher has woken up to the news he won the lottery.

“This money will allow me to completely pay off my mortgage, which is the dream, and I’ll be able to travel.

“I’m also due to have a very expensive operation this month so this win will be an invaluable asset to cover that,” he said.

Jaclyn Wood, The Lottery Office CEO, said the prize was the largest collected from an overseas jackpot to-date by a Queenslander.

“It’s fantastic to see a local cash in such a massive prize from an international lottery. We feel privileged to have facilitated this win,” Ms Wood said.

“The Lottery Office is 100% Australian owned and operated and we are passionate about enabling Australians to benefit from international lotteries, as these draws are often significantly larger on average than what you will find in a traditional Australian lottery.

“For example, the US Powerball, which is matched to our USA Power Lotto, holds the world record for the biggest prize ever at AUD2.9 billion while the largest ever Australian lotto payout was AUD160 million.

The USA Power Lotto is ongoing, with a billion dollar prize still up for grabs, with the next draw closing at midday AEDT on Tuesday, February 7.

Originally published as Gold Coast teacher wins nearly $1m in US lottery