Lottery winner reveals he almost missed out on a huge cash prize because he thought it was a scam
- Mysterious man almost hung up on lottery
- He had won a third division prize worth $55,000
A lottery winner has revealed how he almost missed out on his prize because he thought it was a scam.
The 42-year-old man from North Melbourne had won $55,564 in the third division jackpot of the European Millions drawing last Wednesday.
The Lottery office had tried to contact him by phone, but the man almost didn’t answer because he thought it was from scammers.
A third division prizewinner almost missed out on $55,564 because he thought it was just another scam
He had to double check his account before realizing he had actually won.
“It was so unexpected, I thought someone must have scammed me,” he said.
“I logged into my account while on the phone to check that my ‘My Draws’ had been updated and sure enough, it was real.”
“I couldn’t believe my luck.”
The gambler said he would use the money to pay back his wife, who had recently funded a major surgery that had left him unemployed.
He said whatever is left after the hospital bill is paid off will be spent on his family.
“I work in hospitality but just had surgery so I am currently recovering at home,” he said.
“With this money I can pay back my wife who has paid for all my operations.
“My wife and I can’t wait to celebrate with the rest of our family.”
The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, said he started playing international lotteries in the US eight years ago.
Lottery Office CEO Jaclyn Wood said she was happy to see the bills of an Australian in need paid.
“It’s fantastic to see local money in a life-changing international lottery prize and to be able to use the money to pay for surgery costs,” Ms Wood said.
“We feel privileged to have made this victory possible.”
The man had started playing the lotto in the US eight years ago and continued to buy international lottery tickets through Aussie-based The Lottery Office
Ms Wood said the benefit of selling international tickets meant she could help people play for huge international prize pools from Australia.
“The US Powerball, which is linked to our USA Power Lotto, holds the world record for the largest prize ever with $2.9 billion, while the largest Australian lotto payout ever was $160 million,” she said.
The first division European Millions prize has yet to be won and is valued at approximately AUD$261 million.