A newsagent is thrilled after selling a Division 1-winning lotto entry that netted $2.5m for the lucky punter.
Danielle Parkinson, who with her sister Melanie manages Coolum Beach News, said Saturday’s $20m Gold Lotto draw had eight Division 1 winners, with the only one in Queensland being sold at their store.
She said it was the first major jackpot win sold at the store, which is owned by their parents Michael and Carmel.
“My parents have owned it for 10 years and that makes it even more exciting because it’s their first one,” Ms Parkinson said.
The $2.5m prize has been claimed but the winner – who chose a 12-game QuickPick – wants to remain anonymous.
The Parkinsons also own David Low Way News at Pacific Paradise, where a Division 2-winning Powerball entry was sold for Thursday night’s draw, a prize of $27,244.35.
“It comes in threes so we’re hoping between the two shops that we’ll do it again very soon,” Ms Parkinson said.
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She said she was excited to sell Saturday’s winning ticket.
“It’s really good, especially to change a local person’s life,” she said.
“We’re competing with online purchases these days and everything else.
“It’s what we live for and really great for business.”
She said the aspirations of punters dreaming of becoming millionaires had changed over the years.
“A lot (of people) these days aren’t in the financial situation where they own their own homes, so a lot would like to not be renting and would like to buy a house,” she said.
“Others would like to set their kids up, that kind of thing.
“It’s not really the big dreams where you would buy mansions in Sydney or overseas. You don’t really hear these stories.
“They’re very down-to-earth, looking after their family and loved ones.”
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David Low Way News has previously had a Division 1 winner. The family also had a newsagency in Nambour, selling it in March after eight years.
“In Nambour, the two (Division 1) winners I sold to kept buying the same ticket every week,” Ms Parkinson said.
“One of the winners in Nambour, he actually won Division 2 from my parents’ store in Pacific Paradise about 10 years ago.
“My parents have been in business in newsagencies for 34 years on the Coast so it’s a small world and kind of funny how it works out for some people.
“And then some people have been playing the same numbers all their life and are still waiting to win.”
The Lott spokesperson Anna Hobdell said she was sure the Coast’s latest division one winner was busy arranging exciting plans for years to come.
“While we may never know how the winner plans to enjoy their prize, we have no doubt they’re walking around grinning from ear to ear after discovering their newfound fortune,” she said.
“Other winners often share stories of using their division one winnings to support loved ones, pay off their mortgages, upgrade their homes and cars, or even indulge on a luxurious holiday.
“However our elusive winner chooses to use their multimillion-dollar windfall, we hope they embrace that winning feeling for as long as they can.”
The winning numbers in Saturday Gold Lotto draw 4395 on September 2 were 9, 37, 32, 41, 40 and 16, while the supplementary numbers were 26 and 30.
Overall, last year more than 135.3 million winners took home more than $4.14 billion in prize money from games at The Lott, including Saturday Gold Lotto, Monday and Wednesday Gold Lotto, Powerball, Oz Lotto, Set for Life, Lucky Lotteries, Keno, Super 66, Lotto Strike and Instant Scratch-Its.
In that time Saturday Gold Lotto created 171 millionaires across Australia.
And while the winner of Saturday’s draw has come forward, the winner of a $1 million reward is still at large, after purchasing a successful Gold Lotto ticket at a Sunshine Coast newsagency in late 2016.
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