A Bathurst man has had his morning routine shaken by the news he’d won $15 million in last week’s Oz Lotto draw.
The New South Welshman held the only division one winning entry in Oz Lotto draw 1597 on Tuesday, 24 September 2024. He takes home the entire $15 million jackpot.
The winning entry was unregistered, meaning officials from The Lott had to wait for the mystery ticketholder to discover their life-changing news and come forward to claim their prize.
"I’m still in shock!" the winning man said.
“Fifteen million dollars is a lot to wrap my head around.
“It’s not the sort of money I’ve ever seen in my life.
“When I checked my ticket, I thought I was going to have a heart attack.
“I seriously didn’t know what to do at that moment. All I remember was that my spine was tingling.
“Ever since then, it’s been a whirlwind of emotions.”
With $15 million about to change his life forever, the newly minted multi-millionaire shared the prize would only be used to help others.
“It feels great to know that I will be able to help my family,” he shared.
“All I care to do is look after my family and make sure they’re happy and healthy.
“This is a life-changing moment!”
His division one winning entry was purchased at Wilberforce Newsagency, Shop 6, Wilberforce Shopping Centre, Cnr King Road & William Street, Wilberforce.
Wilberforce Newsagency owner Allison Griffith shared the outlet had been buzzing with excitement ever since they found out they’d sold a division one winning ticket worth $15 million.
“We’ve had the newsagency for 17 years now and this is our first major win,” she said.
“It feels very special to know that we sold someone a life-changing ticket.
“Our customers and local community are over the moon to hear someone from the region has won such a big prize.
“Congratulations to our winner and we hope you enjoy your prize!”
The winning numbers in Oz Lotto draw 1597 on Tuesday 24 September 2024 were 33, 35, 15, 13, 30, 4 and 32 while the supplementary numbers were 20, 27 and 45.
Across Australia, there was one division one winning entry in Oz Lotto draw 1597 – New South Wales claiming the win.
The Lott’s division one winning tally has now reached 326 so far in 2024, including 97 won by NSW Lotteries customers.
In FY24, 16 Oz Lotto division one winning across Australia collectively won more than $323 million.
During this time, Oz Lotto offered a $90 million jackpot – the second biggest in the game’s 30-year history – which was shared by three New South Wales winners.
Of the 16 Oz Lotto division one winning entries in FY24, 10 landed in New South Wales, three in Queensland, and one each Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia.
In FY24, more than 132.8 million winners took home more than $4.4 billion in prize money from games at The Lott, including Saturday Lotto, Weekday Windfall, Powerball, Oz Lotto, Set for Life, Lucky Lotteries, Keno (SA), Super 66, Lotto Strike and Instant Scratch-Its.
Last financial year, Australia’s official lotteries contributed more than $1.8 billion via state lottery taxes and donations to help community initiatives, such as hospitals, health research, disaster relief and education.