Woman Forgets about Gifted Ticket, Finds a Surprise AU$25K Win

A woman who received several tickets as a gift for Mother’s Day last month completely forgot about them only to find out that she had won AU$25,000 ($16,700). The case involves an unnamed woman from Launceston, the fifth-largest inland city in Australia, who unknowingly sat on the hefty win for nearly two months before realizing that she had won one of the top prizes from The Lott’s popular game Instant Scratch-Its.

The winning tickets of the lucky woman were purchased as a gift at Shearwater IGA, 30 Shearwater Boulevard, Shearwater. The woman received several $2 Prize Piggy Instant Scratch-Its tickets for Mother’s Day early in May.

When asked by The Lott, the lucky winner said that her children gifted her the scratch-off tickets but at the time she didn’t know how to check them. “I scratched one and forgot about the rest,” said the lucky winner. She then stuck the remaining lottery tickets to her fridge and left them.

More than a month later, the Launceston woman decided to scratch off the rest of the tickets only to find out that she had won one of the game’s top prizes. “I phoned my son and I said to him, ‘Remember those scratchies you guys gave me for Mother’s Day? Well, I won $2 and then $25,000!‘ The phone went dead silent,” explained the lucky lottery player.

A Surprise Awaits the Winner’s Friends and Family

Jeremy Kode, a representative of Shearwater IGA, the retail outlet that sold the winning ticket, revealed that it is exciting to see the venue sell one of the top prizes from the popular lottery game. “We’re really pleased to have sold a top prize Instant Scratch-Its ticket and have been letting all of our customers know about the good news,” he added.

When asked what she intends to do with the lottery win, the lucky woman said that she decided to gift each of her three children AU$5,000 ($3,300).

She said that she would also organize a surprise for her friends by booking a getaway. “They won’t know what’s hit them. We’ll have to open the bottle of champagne to celebrate,” she revealed.