Despite joking he was the Keno winner everyone was looking for, an East Albury man admits he was completely floored when he checked his ticket and discovered he'd scored an $80,000 prize.
The southern New South Wales player won a Keno Classic 8 Spot winning entry in draw 900 on Friday, 13 May 2022. His total windfall was $81,330.60.
Speaking with an official from Keno this morning, the happy winner relayed how the excitement unfolded.
“I was just at the venue catching up with some mates,” he explained.
“I wasn’t watching the draw, but I saw the win flash up on the screen, and I instantly thought, ‘Imagine if that’s me!’.
“I waited to see if anyone went to claim the prize, but no one seemed to be rushing up to the counter. So, I went up, slid the ticket over the counter and said, ‘I’m ready for the good news’.
“They said to me, ‘Yeah, you’ve won! Congratulations!’.
“I couldn’t believe it at first. I was just kidding when I said I was the winner, but I really am the winner!
“I’m still in shock today. It hasn’t sunk in!
“It’s been quite challenging lately, so this will make a massive difference to my life.
“I’ll use the prize for a new place.”
The winning man purchased his Keno Classic 8 Spot entry at Newmarket Hotel, 200 Borella Road, East Albury.
Newmarket Hotel team member Dean Nicholson said the entire team was thrilled for their local winner.
“It’s fantastic news!” he said.
“We’re so happy for our local winner. The entire team would love to send our congratulations to him. We hope it makes a great deal of difference to his life.
“Wins like this generate such a buzz in the venue. All our patrons are hoping they’re next to win big.
“Hopefully, this is the start of a major winning streak. We’d love to surprise our patrons with more big wins!”
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.