Having won a Keno jackpot prize of more than $5.1 million late yesterday, a Mackay tradie in his 40s has declared he won’t be turning up to work today or ever again.
The shocked Queenslander held a Keno Mega Millions 10 Spot winning entry in game 191 on Sunday 26 May 2019 that scored a total prize of $5,167,445.00.
It’s the biggest Keno prize to ever land in Queensland, and is the third million-dollar-plus Keno jackpot to be won in the Sunshine State during the past six weeks.
Speaking with a Keno official yesterday afternoon straight after he had discovered he was a now a multi-millionaire, the down-to-earth bloke declared his working days were over.
“I think I might retire now, thank you very much. I’m not going to work tomorrow,” he laughed.
“I’m feeling pretty good now, brother, I can tell you that.This is pretty big!And with State of Origin coming up, I reckon this win is a good omen for that too.
“I was watching the Keno screen and I counted the top couple of numbers, but I couldn’t see the bottom half.
“I normally walk out of the club with one ticket in my pocket so I can check it when I come back.I had one game left on this ticket, but as I was leaving I just thought I should check it.
“At first, they said ‘you’ve won more than $5,000’, and I thought ‘oh, that’s good’. Then I saw on the screen the jackpot had been won and I started to think ‘maybe it’s me?’.
“When they told me the amount, I just couldn’t believe it. It hasn’t sunk in. I’m holding on tight to this ticket and I’m going to go home and I’ll be wrapping myself in cotton wool until I get the cheque!”
Queensland’s newest Keno multi-millionaire shared he had been playing the same numbers on his Keno tickets for the past two years – a mix of family birthdates and favourite numbers.
“I got $800 once before. This is something else!” he exclaimed.
“Well, the first thing out of my wife’s mouth was ‘we’ll fix the kids up for the future’, so that’s what we’ll do.
“It’s not all about me, I’ve got a lovely family to share it with. It just still hasn’t sunk in yet.
“Seeing the win come up on the screen – that’s a memory that will stick with me for a long, long time.
“For now, we’re going to go home, sit down and take it all in. We’re multi-millionaires now – that sounds very, very good.”
The winner, who wishes to remain anonymous, purchased his winning entry at Magpies Sporting Club, Glenella Road, Mackay.
Magpies Sporting Club duty manager Sarah Zammit said the club was celebrating selling its biggest Keno winning entry to date.
“It’s just fantastic,” she declared.
“It’s the only 10 Spot win we’ve ever had and for it to be a Queensland record is incredible.
“I got called over to the Keno terminal and the winner had just found out. I could see he was in shock and a bit emotional.
“Everyone’s so happy for him. We wish him all the very best with his prize.
“We can’t wait to do it again with another customer!”
In 2018, Keno crowned 16 millionaires and multi-millionaires who collectively took home more than $36.47 million.Six of these major winners were Queenslanders.
Queenslanders won $25.87 million on average each month playing Keno in pubs and clubs across the state.
Last year in Queensland alone, players bought 34.76 million Keno tickets and won $310.64 million in cash prizes, including 494 individual 7, 8, 9, and 10 Spot jackpot prizes.