Two Australian brothers win $1 million each in lottery fluke

Two brothers from Victoria have snagged $1 million each in a weekend lottery after 50 years of trying with the same set of numbers.

Two Victorian brothers have each snagged $1 million in a weekend lottery after 50 years of trying with the same set of numbers.

The long-time players each held one of the five division one winning entries in Tattslotto draw 4393 on Saturday. They each took home a total division one prize of $1,045,001.05.

The brotherly duo revealed the family tradition began in the 1970s, when one brother asked the other to put on his regular Tattslotto ticket while he was on holidays. Both men then continued getting identical Tattslotto tickets every week.

One brother, from Cheltenham, in Melbourne’s south east, said he didn’t know his brother still used the same numbers until he learned about their win on Saturday night.

“I checked my Tattslotto ticket on Saturday night and I couldn’t believe it. I checked it about three or four times to make sure it was true,” he told Tattslotto.

“I didn’t even know my brother still put the same Tattslotto tickets on until I received a call from him on Saturday night.

“He lives in Echuca, and I live in Melbourne, so we don’t keep up to date with the tickets.

Echuca Lucky Lotto, where one of the tickets was purchased. Picture: Supplied.

“I chose these lottery numbers in the late ‘70s because it was my favourite football team’s numbers … which is Essendon. My brother doesn’t even go for Essendon, he goes for Hawthorne. Who would’ve known these numbers would deliver a $1 million to my brother and I decades later.”

The other brother, from Echuca, said he planned to take his wife to Hawaii with the winnings, adding she didn’t believe they’d won at first.

“It’s amazing. I feel great,” he told Tattslotto.

“You wouldn’t believe it; my brother has the same ticket.

“It all started in the early days when I went away for a holiday, and he put my Tattslotto ticket on for me. Since then, we’ve had the same numbers in every Tattslotto draw.

“I was out having some tea on Saturday night when I decided to check my Tattslotto ticket on the phone.

“I checked with my wife and asked her how many numbers I needed to win division one. She responded with six and assumed we only had five numbers.

“That’s when I turned to her and said, ‘don’t worry, we’ve got six’. She couldn’t believe it. She thought I was kidding.”

Two brothers have won $1 million each in the lottery. Picture: Supplied.

The man said he “phoned (his) brother straight away and asked him if he had checked his ticket”.

“We’re retired now, and my wife really wants to go to Hawaii for a family holiday. So, I think that’s what we will be doing with the prize” he added.

One of the marked System 8 entries was purchased at Echuca Lucky Lotto on Hare Street, while the other was purchased at Southland Lucky Lotto at Westfield Southland shopping centre.

The pair were the only Victorians to have held all six winning numbers needed to score division one in the weekend’s Tattslotto draw. The other three wins were in NSW, Queensland and WA.

The winning numbers in Tattslotto draw 4393 on 26 August 2023 were 37, 10, 18, 32, 6 and 33, while the supplementary numbers were 21 and 23.

Originally published as Two Australian brothers win $1 million each in lottery fluke