A BEERWAH man has had a lucky break to kick start 2024, after a Christmas gift of an instant scratch-it scored him a free five dollar ticket, which lead to a top prize win of $100,000.
The winner bought redeemed the $5 instant scratch-it ticket from the Beerwah Newsagency, who has never had someone claim a top prize or division one win from a scratch-it purchased there.
Beerwah Newsagency owner, Les Townsend, said him and his team were excited for the scratch-it winner, and hopes he has a great future.
“We’re elated! We have been waiting to sell a top prize or division one for a long time now!” he said.
“We were lucky enough to share in the winning locals’ excitement when they presented the ticket in store.
“We are just so incredibly happy for them. They are regulars so we can’t wait to see their bright faces visit again soon.”
The lucky winner, who has remained unnamed, said he was feeling great after the big win, saying it is a wonderful start to 2024, however, is not sure what he will splurge on yet.
“I actually don’t play often but we were gifted a bunch of Instant Scratch-Its tickets from friends and family over Christmas,” he said.
“We scratched them over the holiday period and finally got around to cashing them in.
“One of the prizes we got was a free $5 ticket and so we got that one, scratched it, and there it was! One hundred thousand dollars! We couldn’t believe it.”
In 2023, there were 144 Instant Scratch-Its top prize winners across The Lott’s jurisdictions who collectively took home more than $12.1 million in top prizes.