Aussie woman who rarely plays lottery defies the odds to scoop entire $100 million Oz Lotto prize
In Australia, the chance of taking out the first division Oz Lotto prize is about one in 62 million.
An Australian woman has shattered the staggering odds of one in 62 million, walking away with the entire $100 million Oz Lotto division one prize — cementing her place as the biggest individual Oz Lotto winner in Australian history.
The life-changing moment arrived with a late-night phone call, catching the unsuspecting NSW resident, from Elizabeth Hills, completely off-guard.
Initially, she thought it was a joke. "Who is this? Why are you calling this late?" she questioned, unable to believe her ears when an official from The Lott broke the electrifying news following the draw.
"What the hell! Can you repeat that? Oh my god. Don’t lie to me. You better not be pranking me! I don’t know whether to believe you or not."
What were the winning numbers?
The unbelievably lucky winner purchased the golden ticket on The Lott website, with the winning numbers being: 3, 34, 35, 26, 44, 39 and 36, while the supplementary numbers were 5, 45 and 6.
The person on the other end of the line was The Lott's Khat McIntyre, who shared her excitement at being trusted to break the life-altering news to the winner over the phone.
"Hearing the raw emotion through the phone is unforgettable and the excitement is always contagious. It’s so surreal knowing that I'm a part of the phone call that will change a life forever," she told Yahoo News on Monday.
And change a life it has, with the NSW woman admitting sh feels as though she's "dreaming".
“Internally, I’m sweating bullets ... I still can’t believe it," she said, explaining she'd just "finished watching Married at First Sight, and was falling asleep" when the phone rang.
"When I saw multiple missed calls, I thought, ‘Who would be calling me at this time?’ I was worried something was wrong," she said. "I still can’t believe it. I only treat myself to lotteries when there’s a big jackpot, and I saw $100 million on offer in Oz Lotto and decided to give it a go. I still feel like I’m being pranked or I’m dreaming."
How will the lucky winner spend her earnings?
As for how she plans on spending the mega-haul, the woman said first up on her list is a well-deserved holiday. "I love my job, but I won’t need to work seven days a week anymore. It’s actually really nice to think that I won’t need to work," she said.
"I’ll finally be able to buy a place of my own. I’ll start treating myself more. I’ll go on a holiday."
In Australia, Gambler's Help puts the chance of taking out the first division Oz Lotto prize at about one in 62 million.
According to the Associated Press, the odds of that prize going to a single person — as it did on Tuesday night — are more than a million to one.
In addition to the $100 million division one winner, there were 1,881,633 wins across divisions two to seven who collectively took home more than $42 million in prize money.
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