Man with just months to live wins lotto

A West Australian man given just months to live has had a big win in the Saturday Lotto windfall draw.

The man, aged in his 50s, was one of eight winners nationally in the Lotterywest draw on Saturday, receiving $772,000 out of the $6m prize pool. Tragically, he was recently diagnosed with a terminal illness and given only months to live.

He said the win was a bittersweet one and would help to support his family long after he was gone.

“I can go out with a smile on my face,” he said.

“I was well prepared with no debt and decent super, but now I know that my family will be set up really well after this win.”

The man said he very nearly missed out on buying a ticket for the draw but entered his numbers with five minutes to spare.

“I saw it was 5.55pm and I thought, ‘I’d better hurry up and get my lotto tickets’,” he said.

“I always buy two entries, one with my favourite numbers, and one Slikpik.

“Usually, I’d reject the first choice of random numbers and go with the second choice, but because it was so close to 6pm (when the draw closed), I went with the first choice, and it was one of those entries that won.”

He and his wife were stunned even more when they found the winning numbers were on line 16 – a detail that has special meaning to them.

“We were married on the 16th, and we won 10 years and one week after we were married,” his wife said.

“We’ve been building lots of memories, but it will be hard to top this one, and now I can finally say I’m married to a millionaire.”

The couple plans to spend the money on business class plane tickets so they can visit family on the east coast.

“We were resigned to not being able to see them, so this is very special,” the man said.

“I am glad I’ll be able to help out some of those family members who have been doing it really tough.”

Lotterywest spokeswoman Jennie Fitzhardinge said the man’s story was unforgettable and touched the hearts of many.

“It is always moving to meet people who have won a life-changing amount of money, but there are things that money just can’t buy,” she said.