Cairns man wins $500,000+ after buying ticket from Cairns Golden Casket
After 30 years of joking about winning the lotto, a Cairns man has finally had his lottery dream come true, but he wasn’t the only one.
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After 30 years of joking about winning the lottery, a Cairns man has finally had his dream come true and he was not the only winner this week.
The man, who asked to remain anonymous, won $541.052.71 in the Gold Lotto, Division 1, Saturday night draw.
He said he wasted no time buying a bottle of French champagne to celebrate with his wife.
“I found out at 5am. I usually wake up pretty early and checked my ticket,” the man said.
“I let my wife sleep in until 7am and then said ‘I’ve got news that’s going to make your day’.”
The man, who won with a quick pick ticket, said he had been playing lotto for about 30 years, after years of joking about what he would do if he won.
“It’s been a bit of a joke in my family that I keep saying, when I win the Gold Lotto, I’m going to do this and that,” he said.
“Well the jokes on them as now I have won.”
The couple now plan to retire and travel Australia in a caravan.
The winning ticket was bought from TSG & Golden Casket at the Cairns DFO.
TSG & Golden Casket DFO Cairns manager Kelly Moran said she was excited for the lucky couple, who she hoped was on of the store’s regulars.
“We’re really happy obviously that it was won by somebody who comes into our shop,” she said.
“It makes you feel good and excited that we could change someone’s life, especially at the moment when times are so rough.
“Half a million dollars is pretty life changing.”
It is the second time a winning Division 1 ticket has been sold at the store in two years.
The previous TSG & Golden Casket DFO Cairns winner won $1,000,000 in May, 2022.
The Cairns man was not the only one to walk away with a massive win this week.
A Manunda man also struck gold after discovering he’d won $200,000 in the Lucky Lotteries Mega Jackpot draw.
The Cairns local’s typical Monday at work was interrupted by a life-changing phone call, leaving him “a bit overwhelmed”.
The lucky punter had won the jackpot with his golden ticket, taking home first prize.
He got quite choked up realising exactly what this meant for him and his family.
“I’m a bit overwhelmed by this news,” he said.
“You’ve caught me while I’m at work and I had no idea this is what you were calling about.
“Wow! This is really something. I can see now on my online account that this is really real.”
The lucky man gave some insight to what he planned to do with his new found fortune and how exactly he intended to spend it.
“I’m thinking I’ll finally buy my dream block of land and build a house on it,” he said.
“I’d also like to ditch this cold weather and go somewhere else that’s tropical for a holiday.”
He was very grateful for his win.
“This is going to make life a heck of a lot easier,” he said.
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Originally published as Cairns man wins $500,000+ after buying ticket from Cairns Golden Casket
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