A WOMAN from The Entrance has come forward as the mystery winner of a $2.5 million jackpot that was left unclaimed after Saturday's Lotto draw.
The Central Coast resident held one of the two division one winning entries in draw 4521 on Saturday, November 16. Each division one winning entry scored a hefty $2,519,100.97.
"I'm still flabbergasted. I was speechless when I checked my ticket, and I still am," she said.
"It certainly is wonderful news."
The winning entry was purchased at The Entrance Newsagency and the woman said she had been playing regularly for years.
"You get used to checking your ticket and getting just a small win, so when I realised I had won division one, it was completely unexpected," she said.
"I've been carrying around my ticket like it's pure gold. I'm petrified of losing it."
She said she has plans to share her win with her family and it's come just in time for Christmas.
"I'm thinking we'll do a big family holiday eventually! I would love to go overseas someplace nice. Maybe Europe," she said.
The Entrance Newsagency owner, Blake Gavljak, said news of the big win was spreading quickly around town, and his family-owned business had started celebrations.
"Before the weekend, we had never been fortunate in the 10 years that we have owned the business to sell a division one winning entry," he said.
"Our family is extremely competitive, we'd love to know if it was me, mum or dad that sold the winning ticket."
"We congratulate the winner and hope they have a prosperous future."
The winning numbers in Saturday Lotto draw 4521 on 16 November 2024 were 6, 5, 8, 44, 29 and 38, while the supplementary numbers were 1 and 9.
Across Australia, there were two division one winning entries in Saturday Lotto draw 4521 - one each in New South Wales and Western Australia.
