A retiree from Plumpton believes he felt destined to win the top prize on his Instant Scratch-Its ticket after his brother’s beloved number 45 emerged as the final digit, securing him a $250,000 top prize.

The Western Sydney resident’s winning $10 Ruby 7s Instant Scratch-Its ticket was purchased at Plumpton Marketplace Newsagency, Shop T19 Plumpton Marketplace, Cnr Hyatts Road & Jersey Road, Plumpton.

The devoted Instant Scratch-Its enthusiast couldn’t believe his eyes when he scratched his top prize and even grabbed his magnifying glass to confirm the win.

“I just couldn’t believe it. It was a shock to the system,” he laughed.

“I have bad eyesight as it is and when I had finished scratching the Instant Scratch-Its ticket and saw the prize, I said to myself, ‘Well, $25 is better than nothing!’.

“But then I looked closer, and I saw the zeros looked a bit different. I immediately went to grab my magnifying glass to zoom in.

“I kept doubting myself… I kept thinking maybe the number 45 was actually the number 47. It took a while to get my head around it. I couldn’t believe it.

“I really feel as this win was meant to be and everything has fallen into place. The very last number that I had scratched was my brother’s favourite number 45. He always plays number 45 in Keno!

“My brother and I have been treating ourselves to scratchies for years and we always play together. It’s a dream come true!

“You wouldn’t believe it as well, but it was Lunar New Year a few weeks ago and I was passing a store on my way to the newsagency and the shop keeper told me about one of his lanterns he was selling.

“I don’t usually believe in superstitions, but he told me in the Chinese culture that lanterns ‘bring a lot of money’ and ‘good luck’, so I bought it and hung it up in my house when I got home.

“After I hung up the lantern, I won $100 on another Instant Scratch-Its ticket and then this top prize of $250,000! My sister even told me she wants my lantern now, but the lantern is staying!

“I have a friend who has won big on lotto before and he told me you hardly sleep, you hardly eat – now I know what he means!

“Bloody hell! It’s a life-changer!”

After receiving the instant win in his bank account on Monday afternoon, the New South Welshman shared he had already been looking at ‘top of the range’ mobility scooters to help him get around.

“I’m always visiting my brother and I have to take a $80 taxi to go see him every week because I’m not in the position to drive a car, so I can finally buy a top of the range mobility scooter,” he explained.

“This will help me immensely!”

The Plumpton Marketplace Newsagency team said they were pleased to have sold a top prize-winning Instant Scratch-Its ticket to a local and wished their winner all the very best.