Bundaberg dad wins $2.5m lotto with forgotten ticket

A dad who thought he’d only won $42 in the lotto was shocked to learn the total winnings were actually way more than that.

A Queensland dad who unknowingly held the winning $2.5 million lotto ticket only discovered his luck while waiting for his takeaway order.

The Bundaberg man said he was so “frigging excited” after discovering he had one of the four division one winning entries.

“My wife and I were in Red Rooster getting some dinner last night because we were too tired to cook and while we were there my wife decided to check my ticket,” he said.

The Bundaberg man won $2.5m two weeks after he bought his ticket. Picture: NewsWire / Nicki Connolly

“My wife started to get really excited, and I looked over her shoulder to see what the prize was, and I thought I’d won $42.

“I started to get excited over a win of $42 because it was more than what my wife had won, which was $3.20, but then she told me to look again, and turns out I was looking at the cost of the ticket.

“I couldn’t believe it. We went crazy!

“The guy behind the counter questioned why we were still eating Red Rooster for dinner and not treating ourselves to a nicer meal.

“Honestly, we went home, and we couldn’t eat the chicken, and we couldn’t sleep.”

The man had held the unregistered ticket for nearly two weeks after buying it in at Nextra Express Chermside in Brisbane before watching his favourite team play in the NRL.

“I headed down to Brisbane a couple of weeks ago after my daughters got me tickets to see my favourite NRL team, the Broncos, take on the Storm,” he exclaimed.

“The game brought tears to my eyes. I thought it was a disappointing trip because they didn’t win but turns out it was the best trip ever.”

Nextra Express Chermside owner Shannon Hickey said the store must be lucky after having sold the $100m Powerball winning entry in August.

The winner had bought his ticket while on holiday in Brisbane. Picture: NewsWire / Valeriu Campan

“If we’re not the luckiest store in Brisbane this year, I can’t imagine who could be,” Mr Hickey said.

“We’re so pleased to have sold another division one winning entry to one of our customers.

“Ever since we’ve sold the mammoth $100m winning entry in a recent Powerball draw, we’ve had customers come in for a chat and to take a selfie with our poster. It’s been a real buzz.”

The $2.5m winner said he only ever bought lottery tickets when he was away from home on holiday.

“We’re small business owners and we know what it’s like to do it tough,” he said.

“We know that we can’t let money go to waste, so we’re keen to use the prize wisely.

“I’ve always told my daughters that we would buy them a house if I won lotto, and now they’re holding me accountable to that.

“We’re going to speak to an accountant and see what we can do.

“I’m also at retirement age, which means I could put some away for that.

“It’s awesome.”

Originally published as Bundaberg dad wins $2.5m lotto with forgotten ticket