A quiet pub lunch for a couple of Tweed Heads mates turned into a life-changing excursion after the pair won more than $99,000 in a recent Keno draw.
The Northern Rivers residents held a Keno Classic 8 Spot winning entry in draw 516, drawn Saturday 4 November 2023. Their total prize was $99,784.70.
“It was just meant to be a couple of friends getting lunch,” the winning man said when an official from Keno called to confirm the wonderful win.
“We both rarely play Keno, maybe once in a blue moon, but we decided to each pick four numbers and play a few games.
“I know it’s hard to win but I thought, ‘surely, we can find eight numbers’.
“Then the first game started, and I watched one number get drawn, then another and before I knew it, I was staring at my friend and my jaw was on the floor.
“I said, ‘did you just see all of our numbers on the board?!’.
“We were freaking out, so we spoke to the bar and realised it was real.
“I’m still in shock and I can’t honestly say I’m processing it very well.
“I started shaking as soon as I started talking about it all again.
“We’ll split it and it’s going to change our lives.
“I’ll be putting a fair chunk into savings in order to prepare for my future and will look into some investment opportunities too.
“Thank you so much, mate. What a weekend!”
The pair’s winning entry was purchased at Ivory Waterside, 156 Wharf Street, Tweed Heads.
Ivory Waterside Manager Kohbe Walsh said it was incredibly exciting to have seen a major win at the venue over the weekend.
“This is fantastic! We noticed a big win and then started wondering if the winnerswinners were still in the venue,” they said.
“The atmosphere immediately changed, and it felt like the win had supercharged the venue.
“Everyone was smiling and laughing, it was a really happy moment for our winners and for those of us fortunate enough to have seen it happen.
“We’ll be celebrating for weeks to come and would like to wish our winners all the best for the future.”
In FY23, Keno players across the eastern states of mainland Australia celebrated more than 95.42 million wins collectively worth more than $1.34 billion.
During this time, Keno crowned 20 millionaires and multi-millionaires who collectively took home more than $46 million. Eight of these major winners were from New South Wales and the ACT, including a Sydneysider who picked up a $3.81 million windfall.