A man from Wonthaggi has unwrapped the surprise of a lifetime, realising almost six months after the draw the TattsLotto ticket his wife slipped into his Christmas card was worth a jaw-dropping $2.1 million.
 
The South Gippsland resident held one of the 14 division one winning entries nationally in TattsLotto draw 4535, drawn Saturday 4 January 2025. He looks forward to a total prize of $2,142,857.15.
 
The winning entry was unregistered, which meant we had been unable to reveal the exciting news to the ticketholder and had been eagerly waiting for the ticketholder to come forward.
 
The winning man shared the winning ticket, tucked inside the festive card, went unchecked for months as “life got in the way”.
 
“Thank you very much! It’s very surreal,” he exclaimed. 
 
“My wife always buys a lottery ticket for everyone in the family for Christmas.  
 
“We’d been away on holiday for a month over summer, and with everything else going on when we got back, I completely forgot about the ticket.
 
“I only thought the other day that I should check the ticket. I couldn’t believe it.

“Things like this never happen to us.”

With $2.1 million about to land into his bank account, the generous Victorian said his thoughts immediately turned to how he could support his nearest and dearest.
 
“We’re going to divide it within the family.; share the prize around and help others,” he shared.
 
“It will help many people!”
 
His winning entry was purchased at Lucky Lotto Wonthaggi Plaza, Kiosk 2, Wonthaggi Plaza, 2 Biggs Drive, Wonthaggi.
 
Lucky lotto Wonthaggi Plaza owners Gio and Robyn said they’re absolutely thrilled to hear their mystery division one winner has checked their ticket and come forward to claim their prize.
 
“We were so excited to have sold a division one winning entry and make someone’s dreams come true. Even better to hear the winner has now discovered their multi-million-dollar prize!” Gio said.
 
“Before this division one winning entry, we hadn’t sold a division one winning entry since 31 January 2022. This is our 5th division one prize sold over an 11-year period.
 
“Congratulations and thanks heaps for buying your lucky ticket from our outlet. What an amazing prize to win!”