A Maitland man has admitted he first thought his wife had given him a “fake Instant Scratch-Its ticket” to play a trick on him.
But, he soon realised he was wrong after scratching a sensational top prize of $1,000 a week for the next five years.
His partner relayed how the windfall came about when an official from The Lott reached out on Tuesday morning (21 November).
“It’s quite a story,” she laughed.
“I won a free Instant Scratch-Its ticket on another ticket and my hubby decided to scratch the free one.
“Then I started to notice he was flipping the ticket back and forth.
“I said to him: ‘What are you doing?’
“He replied: ‘You’ve stitched me up, haven’t you?
“I answered: ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about’ and I asked him to be serious.
“He thought it was a fake ticket.
“We often play pranks on each other, so I can understand where he was coming from.”
The $5 Live the Life Thailand Instant Scratch-Its ticket was purchased at Greenhills Newsagency in the Stockland Shopping Centre.
And, reality soon dawned upon the pair.
“The next thing I knew, he said: ‘I think we’ve won big’,” the Lower Hunter woman explained.
“At that moment I was thinking we had won $200 or $300 – not $1,000 a week for the next five years.
“There was a lot of colourful language.
“I couldn’t believe it.
“I said to him, ‘bulls*** you’re f****** kidding me’.
“There was a lot of back and forth wondering if it was true.
“We used to treat ourselves to Instant Scratch-Its all the time, but we haven’t really bought any for nine months until we won this free one.
“We will be celebrating as a family, that’s for sure.”
With $1,000 a week about to boost their bank account for the next five years, the woman shared their delightful plans.
“We’re planning on paying off our debts and buying a new car,” she said.
“I’ve always wanted a Prado since I was a young girl.
“So, I’ll be able to finally buy the car that I’ve been dreaming of and it’s a great family car for my kids.
“Thank you so much.”
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