A Ballina man has happily spent the weekend thinking of how he will use the $1.2 million Keno prize he pocketed on Friday night.
The Northern Rivers player held a Keno 10 Spot winning entry in game 571 on Friday 15 November 2019, taking home a $1,209,055.20 prize.
Speaking with a Keno official this morning, the man confessed to still feeling “stoked” at the million-dollar win.
“I was just having the usual night at the RSL and not thinking much of it. I had two tickets that night – the first one won $45. I thought ‘sweet $45!’ and then she put the other one through the terminal!” he laughed.
“At first I thought the club was giving me a bit of a ribbing and pulling my leg, but then the prize came up on the screen.
“It’s absolutely phenomenal!
“I had a sleepless night trying to digest it all and let it sink in.
“I’ve been playing the same numbers for about a decade. They’re a couple of birthdates, some favourite numbers and one or two just completely random numbers.”
When asked how he might use his Keno fun money, the new millionaire admitted he had spent the weekend thinking of all the things he could do.
“I’m way too stoked to know what to do,” he laughed.
“I’ll pay the mortgage off. After that, I would like to buy another property, more of a mini-farm.
“It really has changed everything in a really great way. It will help so many people – not just one person, many people will be happy.”
The regular Keno player, who wishes to remain anonymous, purchased his Keno 10 Spot winning entry at Ballina RSL Club, 246 River Street, Ballina.
Ballina RSL Club chief operating officer Marisa Poptie said the club was celebrating another big win for one of its customers.
“We were very excited. Very happy,” she exclaimed.
“We had a $2.3 million prize in the past two or three years so we’ve had a couple of good winners and the wins keep coming.
“Our winner didn’t realise he’d won for about half an hour and he was very happy when he did.”
In the 12 months to 30 June 2019, Keno players across the eastern states of mainland Australia celebrated more than 64 million wins collectively worth more than $853 million.
During this time, Keno crowned 17 millionaires and multi-millionaires who collectively took home more than $47.2 million. Nine of these major winners were from New South Wales and the ACT, including a Newcastle man who pocketed the biggest Keno jackpot in Australian history - a Keno Mega Millions 10 Spot prize worth $7,898,799.30.
Players in New South Wales and the ACT enjoyed more than 34.19 million Keno wins totalling more than $472.51 million at pubs and clubs across the region in the 12 months to 30 June 2019.
Keno players can also enter into the monthly second chance draw for the chance to win $10,000 by scanning their ticket at win.secondchance.keno.com.au.
About Keno
Keno is a fun game played at more than 3,400 pubs and clubs across Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT and Victoria.
A Keno draw occurs approximately every three minutes. During each draw, 20 numbers are drawn from 1 to 80. Players simply match the numbers on their entry to the numbers drawn for a chance to win over $1 million.
There are a range of Keno games to play, including Keno Mega Millions – a higher jackpot version of Keno Classic that uses the same Keno ball draw but gives players the chance to win $5 million or more.