AN AUSSIE grandma almost lost her newfound fortune of £5 million ($10 million AUD) because she “thought the missed calls were a scam.”
The unnamed woman, hailing from small town Sarina, near Mackay in Queensland was asleep when lottery officials called her.
She woke up on July 12 to multiple missed calls from telling her she’d scooped up the entire $10 million AUD jackpot in the previous night’s Powerball Draw 1469.
The nan initially dismissed the calls as coming from dodgy callers but they left a voicemail confirming her newfound millionaire status.
The woman, whose age is not known, admitted this to the lottery company.
She told The Lott: “I saw the missed calls when I woke up this morning, but I thought it was a scam, so I decided to leave it.
“It wasn’t until I listened to the voicemail from you that I knew it wasn’t a scam and something was up.”
When lottery officials first relayed the good news, the Sarina native gasped in disbelief.
“Oh my god! I am shaking! I can’t believe it. I don’t know what to say! I’m sort of shocked. What the hell!”
Still refusing to accept the good news, she rang the lottery provider up to confirm her good fortune.
“I rang The Lott straight away and here we are! You’re telling me that I’ve won $10 million! It’s crazy to hear that.
“I’m a multi-millionaire now – oh goodness!”
She also confessed that she very nearly didn’t buy the ticket because she was rushing to work but is now “so glad” she did.
The Queenslander described the win as “absolutely life changing and wonderful.”
She intends to spend the staggering $10 million sum on a new car and help with pending bills.
“Ten million dollars will really help myself and the family. I’ll be able to pay off my mortgage, heaps of bills and buy a brand-new car.
“I’d love to buy a Honda or Toyota with a bull bar because we really need one where we live!
“I’ll also slowly start to cut down my hours at work and eventually retire and it will give me more time to spend with my grandchildren.
“Thank you so much for the beautiful surprise.”
Her winning entry was purchased at Freechoice Sarina, her local tobacconist.
She held the only division one entry in the country, taking the entire jackpot for herself.
This comes after a British gran was also convinced her hefty lottery win was a scam.
Foster carer Nadene from Darlington, County Durham, almost dismissed a life-changing £150,000 People’s Postcode Lottery win.
The devoted grandma, who has been fostering for nearly 17 years, couldn’t believe her ears when she received the news.
She said: “When I got the phone call, I didn’t think it was real.
“I was convinced it was a scam. I didn’t expect anyone to turn up. I’m still in shock. My legs are like jelly.”
But in less fortunate news, a National Lottery player believes he missed out on a hefty win and ended up with just £2 due to a ticket machine “glitch.”
Dean Smethurst, a supermarket worker, initially thought had won a sizeable £50,000 on the Lotto and immediately started making plans on how to splash the cash, even before it had been officially confirmed.
Dean’s big dreams though soon went up in a cloud of smoke when he was told by Camelot his numbers didn’t match and he had actually won three lucky dips, worth £2 each – a grand total of just £6.
