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Wheatbelt couple strike it rich with big Lotto win

Justin BianchiniHills Avon Valley Gazette

WA’s latest Lotto millionaires are a Wheatbelt couple whose winning ticket was bought on a caravan trip and remained unchecked in a wallet for six weeks.

When they remembered their ticket, they took it to a newsagent who told them not to scream because they were “going to die” when they saw how much they had won.

The woman thought it was only a $1.33 prize instead of the $1.3 million.

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“I’d actually thought I lost my wallet a couple of times before I checked the ticket because I kept leaving it around,” the man said. “Luckily it kept coming back to me.”

The couple, who bought the ticket from a Clarkson newsagency, said their first reaction to the news was to have a big hug.

“I always had a bit of a feeling we would get lucky one day and win something,” one of them said. “Like they say, you’ve got to be in it to win it, and now we have.

“It was one hell of a shock, especially since we had to get back to work after finding out.

“It’s hard to fathom that we’re now millionaires, we feel very humble.”

NewsXpress Ocean Keys owner Glenn Major congratulated the couple and said he was glad they found the wallet and claimed their prize.

“It would be a shame if it wasn’t collected,” he said.

The regular Lotto players said they couldn’t believe their luck at buying a 50 game slikpik.

“We won on line 40, so we would have missed out if we only bought a 30 game slikpik,” they said.

They plan to help their children financially, pay off debts and have more caravan trips.

Another lucky person won half a million dollars in division 1 Lotto after buying a ticket at The Lucky Charm Midland.

The outlet was in the news four months ago when it sold a Set for Life first prize.

“We didn’t expect another big winner so soon so this was certainly a terrific surprise,” The Lucky Charm Midland manager Cheryl Wild said.

“You know what they say about things coming in threes, I’d say we’re in for our third big winner for this year soon.”