A Newcastle small businesswoman was happy to discover what she thought was a dream was actually a reality and she really had pocketed a $72,000 Keno 8 Spot prize on the weekend.
The New South Wales player held a Keno 8 Spot winning entry in game 308 on Saturday 10 August, scoring her a total bounty of $72,110.30.
Speaking with a Keno official this morning to confirm her prize, the Newcastle resident explained how she discovered her win.
“I was at the pub having some dinner and I thought I’d put on some Keno,” she shared.
“After dinner, I went home, so I didn’t actually watch the draw and I forgot to check my ticket.
“It wasn’t until I scanned my ticket on the app the next day that I realised I won.
“I was so excited, but it still hasn’t really sunk in.
“I keep thinking this is all a dream and I am going to wake up and it’s not going to be true! It feels very surreal.”
When asked how she planned to enjoy her prize, the hard-working woman declared she would put it to good use.
“I am going to put some of it towards my business and I might get a new car as well,” she declared.
“I told my family and they were so stoked for me. We will celebrate together this weekend.”
The player, who wishes to remain anonymous, purchased her 8 Spot entry at Boatrowers Hotel,
Boatrowers Hotel manager Michael Brown said the venue was celebrating making one of their patrons an 8 Spot winner.
“When I found out, I was so excited!” he said.
“I told all of our patrons and they were thrilled for our winner.
“Last week we had a patron win $6,000 and now this! Hopefully, we sell a third big prize and make it a hat trick
“It’s the talk of the town at the moment, so we’re feeling pretty lucky.
“Hopefully our winner takes a nice holiday somewhere warm to escape the cold!
“But whatever they choose to do with their prize, we wish them all the best with it.”
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.