R63M South African Lotto Winner Nearly Loses Ticket
A 38-year-old South African lottery player from Ekurhuleni is still trying to come to terms with the fact that he won a R63 million Lotto prize two weeks ago. But he nearly walked away empty-handed. The man rushed at the last minute to purchase his Lotto ticket on Saturday afternoon and spent R100, using the Quick Pick selection.
The gas-company worker had only a few hours to spare before the draw and in his haste, forgot where he put the ticket after the purchase. After he learned that he was winner, he nearly misplaced the ticket and vowed to keep it safely in a cupboard until he could claim his winnings.
Processing the Lotto Win News
The man has promised to share his prize money with his wife, who he met on an online dating app seven years ago. In the meantime, they are still trying to process the fact that they became instant millionaires 63 times over from one fateful R100 ticket. The couple has been playing the lottery since 2013 and never gave up that one day they’d be claiming a massive prize.
“Today is our day,” said the winner’s ecstatic wife. “It has finally come and we are unable to express our emotions, because the news of winning is so surreal.” The winner said that he had a hard time convincing his wife that their fortunes had changed so dramatically.
“After checking the winning Lotto numbers - when the results came up, I just couldn't believe it,” he said. “I phoned my wife immediately, who also just didn't believe that I had won, she just did not buy into my story.”
Plans for Lotto Win
The couple say that plan to buy their first home with part of the jackpot win. While they have chosen to remain anonymous from the general public with their news, they have shared the information with a few close friends and family. Contrary to what some people think, winning the lottery can actually be a very traumatic experience for players – especially when there is so much money involved.
For that very reason, Ithuba, the SA National Lottery operator offers free trauma counselling to any winner who takes home more than R50,000.
The winner made no secret of the fact that he’d be taking any help offered to him by Ithuba.
“I have also been given some financial advice and have been shown an extensive portfolio of investment opportunities which I will consider,” he said. “In addition, I opted for trauma counselling and the counsellor could see that we are still in awe of the fact that we have won, it still has not sunk in yet, I am grateful to Ithuba for making the financial advisor and trauma counsellor available to us at no cost.”
Other Recent Lotto Winners
In December, 2021, a 28 year old woman from Groblersdal, Limpopo took home R50 million after winning the PowerBall Plus jackpot. In the same draw, a pensioner of 72 from Margate, KwaZulu-Natal, spent just R7.50 on his PowerBall ticket and won an eye-watering R100 million.
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