A MAN who scooped £1.1million winning a lottery jackpot initially ignored it, thinking it was a dodgy scam.
The South African national lottery operator Ithuba announced last week it was searching for the winner of last Wednesday’s bumper Lotto Plus 1 jackpot.
It announced today the winner, only identified as a businessman, first realised he had won some big money when he got a bank notification which alerted him of winnings worth more than R250,000 (£11,960).
He initially thought it was a scam until the First National Bank (FNB) contacted him, encouraging him to visit his nearest Ithuba office in order to collect his winnings.
The winner said: “All I knew was that it was over R250,000. I didn’t know it was the actual jackpot amount until I got to Ithuba and found out that I am a millionaire.”
The man admitted he plays all the National Lottery games once a month and revealed his method was to use the same set of number each time, spending just R250 (£12) on tickets.
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He added: “As a businessman, although I have always had money in different amounts, I also always believed that I will win the Lotto someday.”
The winner said he would continue his life as usual but intended to donate some money to a church as a way of saying thanks.
He said he had no intention of stopping work and will continue to build his family home.
Ithuba boss Charmaine Mabuza said: “Ithuba congratulates the latest multimillionaire. It is exciting to see our players win our life-changing jackpots.”
The businessman, who lives in Witbank, is joined by another lucky winner from KwaZulu Natal, who won R142,000 (£6,800) playing the PowerBall game on October 14.
The player is a contractor and works as a boilermaker.
“The excited winner prayed and thanked God when he found out that he had won. He plans to do a family ceremony for his relatives, and also plans to build a house for his family,” said Mabuza.
In March this year, a woman revealed she had won £40,000 playing the Australian lottery but also believed initially it was a scam.
The lucky winner, from New South Wales, Australia clinched the top prize after purchasing a ticket for the Oz lotto drawn on February 25.
However, she initially avoided multiple calls and emails from company operators as she believed that someone was playing a cruel practical joke.
She said: “I received some phone calls and emails straight after the draw, but I didn’t recognise the phone number or email, so I didn’t answer or take any notice!
“I said to myself, ‘It’s definitely a scam.'”
After living in blissful ignorance the woman eventually remembered she had bought a ticket and logged in to check.
Last year, The Sun reported the similar fate of a man who refused to acknowledge that he’d won £500,000 after believing he was receiving nuisance calls.
