A Sydneysider enjoying Christmas in Lake Macquarie is now looking forward to retiring and buying his first home in 2022 after unwrapping a $3.1 million Keno prize on Boxing Day.
The man from Matraville held a Keno Classic 10 Spot winning entry in draw 366, drawn Sunday 26 December 2021. His total windfall of $3,166,884 is the third biggest Keno win of the year.
“It’s been a good day! 2022 is looking much better with this Keno win,” the happy winner shared when confirming his win with a Keno official.
“I’m getting close to retirement, and this will bring things forward a bit there and be very helpful.
“I rent because Sydney is so expensive, so my first priority will be to buy the unit I’ve been living in for the past few decades. I can pay for that and have a bit left over.
“I can’t believe it, really. I’m still waiting to wake up.
“I’m used to seeing the Keno 10 Spot jackpot at $1 million or $2 million, but $3 million! Wow! I’ll take it!”
The regular Keno player explained he didn’t discover he was a Keno multi-millionaire until almost 24 hours after the win.
“I like to play Keno and put on 10 numbers when I’m at the pub – just 10 random numbers every time. But this draw happened when I wasn’t there,” he laughed.
“The pub knew before I did.
“I was in there again today and I put on another Keno ticket, and they asked if I wanted to check my ticket from the day before. I wondered why they were asking me that.
“So they scanned my ticket, and that’s when I found out.
“It’s been a very worthwhile day!”
The winning entry was purchased at Toronto Hotel, 74 Victory Parade, Toronto.
Toronto Hotel owner Jon Bortoli said it was great to have some good news in the region.
“This is certainly the biggest Keno win we’ve sold so far,” he said.
“Everyone was checking their tickets when they saw we’d had a big win. It’s a great time of year to win, especially as things have been pretty challenging lately.
“The winner’s a lovely bloke and we wish him all the very best.”