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Topics: News
Kit Roberts
A couple scooped a lottery prize worth millions of dollars after nearly losing their winning ticket.
The grandparents from Melbourne in Australia had unknowingly left the winning ticket on their fridge, leaving them perilously close to missing out on the jackpot.
But fortunately the couple discovered the ticket, and found that it was worth a whopping $20 million AUD, around $13 million US dollars.
The results were announced on 4 September, but the lottery ticket was hiding in plain sight on the fridge door next to the week's dinner plans for several days before they realised what they had.
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And there was one factor which made the conundrum even worse.
This is because the winning ticket was not registered with The Lott Members Club.
That meant that the lottery's governing body in Australia was not able to reach out to the unknowing winners to tell them about their fantastic good fortune.
Luckily though, the grandparents clocked their winning ticket and claimed their life-changing prize.
Speaking to The Lott, the wife, who has not been named, said: "That’s insane! I’m in shock!
“This is unbelievable. We had no idea, and this whole time the ticket was just sitting on our fridge.”
The woman explained that neither she or her husband had realised they were in possession of the winning ticket as they had both been 'really busy', meaning that they forgot to check their ticket after the numbers were announced. We've all been there!
Not only that, but she said that while some people may have favourite numbers for the lottery, they had picked their numbers entirely at random.
Nonetheless, she did notice that there were some familiar numbers in there, only reinforcing that the win was 'meant to be'.
She said: “Oh wow. It was just a QuickPick, but I see my lucky number is here, and some family birthdays and anniversaries. It was meant to be."
The grandmother went on to say that they have bought tickets 'on and off for years'.
As for what they plan to spend their winnings on, the plans are modest so far.
She said: “We’ve worked really hard all our lives. We’ll look after our children and grandchildren, and we’ll be able to buy a little house."
Nonetheless, there was one big question in her mind - whether she should keep working or take retirement.
“I’ve had a radical change of plans for the day, that’s for sure," she said. “It will take a long time for this to sink in.”