A Finley man who has been playing the same Keno numbers for years has thanked a last-minute decision to upgrade his numbers for his $84,000 win.
The Riverina region resident held a Keno Classic 8 Spot winning entry in draw 169, drawn Thursday 17 March 2022. His total windfall was $84,879.70.
Speaking with an official from Keno this morning, the winner revealed he’d been none the wiser to his win until he checked his ticket on the weekend.
“I’d headed to the golf club for some dinner last week, and while we were waiting for it to come out, we decided to play some Keno,” he revealed.
“I was initially playing the 7 Spot with my favourite numbers, but I noticed another number kept coming out, so I upgraded to the 8 Spot and added that number to the mix.
“We’d finished dinner by this point, and the games were still going, but we were getting tired, so we headed home before the games ended.
“A few days later, I went to another venue, and I discovered the win.
“When I handed the ticket to the guy, he scanned it and looked at me funny. And I instantly thought I’d done something wrong, so I said, ‘For god’s sake! I must have stuffed the game up’.
“But he just looked at me with this huge smile and told me I’d won.
“I nearly fell over! I was gobsmacked! I couldn’t believe it.
“I had to go to work so I couldn’t do much celebrating. We did have a few drinks at our local pub on the weekend to celebrate.
“It hasn’t even sunk in – I want it to sink in. It was a wonderful surprise. It’s just such a shock!
“I’ll use the prize to pay off some bills. I’m not sure what I’ll do with the rest as I’m still struggling to believe it.”
The New South Wales player purchased his life-changing Keno Classic winning entry at Tocumwal Golf Club, Barooga Rd, Tocumwal.
Tocumwal Golf Club duty manager Steve McRae said his entire team was delighted by the major Keno win.
“Our other Keno players will be so happy for the winner and hoping they’re next to win big,” he shared.
“We’ve had about three 7 Spot wins here since 2008, so we’re so excited to have an 8 Spot win.
“Congratulations to our winner. We’re ecstatic for you!
“Keno is so popular in our venue, and no doubt this win will give us a boost. We’re so excited to continue to share this great news with everyone.”
In 2021, Keno players across the eastern states of mainland Australia celebrated more than 36.2 million wins collectively worth more than $590.3 million.