A Sunshine Coast woman has come forward to claim a life-changing lottery win after discovering she was sitting on a $585,000 prize days after the draw.
The Greater Sunshine Coast resident held one of 11 division one winning entries in Saturday Gold Lotto draw 4655, drawn on 28 February, taking home $585,849.02.
The woman only realised she had won after checking her tickets the following day, having forgotten about them while away for the weekend.
“What a surprise! It’s so great!” she said when an official from The Lott confirmed her win.
“I normally don’t win anything – absolutely nothing!
“I didn’t know about the win until Sunday. I usually purchase a whole week’s worth and then check them on a Sunday morning, but I was away last weekend and had forgotten about them.
“It was so nice to come back to a division one win from a weekend away.
“I just kept thinking to myself, ‘Did I really win $500,000?’
“I am in total shock.”
The delighted winner, from Gympie, said the windfall had come at the perfect time, revealing she had recently moved into a new home and was already planning renovations.
“I have just moved into a new home, and it needs some renovations. It’s the most perfect timing,” she said.
“Thank you very much. I still can’t believe it.”
Her winning ticket was purchased at NewsXpress Gympie.
Store owner Sam Bamrah said the win had created plenty of excitement in the local community.
“We’re so happy! We’ve been celebrating this exciting moment ever since and we’re pleased to hear that our mystery division one winner has checked their ticket and come forward,” he said.
“The division one win has created a real buzz in our community and reinforces the idea that a win can land anywhere at any time.
“We would like to extend our sincere congratulations to our division one winner on this incredible achievement. Winning a prize like this is truly life-changing and we hope it brings immense joy.”
The winning numbers in Saturday Gold Lotto draw 4655 were 21, 13, 44, 31, 7 and 35, with supplementary numbers 30 and 34.
Across Australia, there were 11 division one winning entries in the draw – four in Victoria, two each in Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia, and one in New South Wales.
