A Townsville woman says she got the surprise of her life over the weekend when she checked her Keno ticket and realised she’d snagged a life-changing prize.
The north Queenslander held a Keno Classic 9 Spot winning entry in draw 545, drawn Sunday 26 September 2021 and takes home $290,181.10.
Confirming her win with an official from Keno this morning, the woman said she was still coming to terms with the exciting revelation.
“It was such a big surprise!” she exclaimed.
“It was very exciting.
“I play Keno from time to time and I was at the venue when the winning numbers were drawn.
“There’s no way I thought it would be me who’d won! I thought it had to be someone else there.
“When I checked my ticket I couldn’t believe it, I thought the staff were having a joke with me.
“It was an amazing feeling. It’s still sinking in.”
With $290,000 about to hit her bank account, the Townsville resident said her prize would help her get ahead in a big way.
“I am going to buy a house,” she declared.
“I’ll pay some bills and use the prize to really set myself up.
“This will change my life in a huge way!”
The winning entry was purchased at Kirwan Tavern, 154 Thuringowa Drive, Kirwan.
Kirwan Tavern Gaming Manager Shaylee Page said she was thrilled for their local and regular patron.
“Congratulations to her,” she said.
“We were all speechless when we saw that someone in the venue had won this amazing prize.
“It was so exciting looking around the venue and wondering who this winner could be.
“We have no doubt she will enjoy her prize and we hope this is the beginning of plenty more big wins for our patrons.”
In the 12 months to 30 June 2021, 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 19 millionaires and multi-millionaires who collectively took home more than $43.69 million. Eight of these major prize winners were from Queensland, including a Gladstone man who won a Keno Classic 10 Spot prize of $2.16 million.